


Christmas at the Mothership

by TheNerdVoice



Series: The Last Mission [4]
Category: Holby City
Genre: Bad Decisions, Charlotte is a Wolfe, Christmas, Christmas Eve, F/F, Gen, Holidays, hospital stuff, seeing ghosts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:01:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27834199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNerdVoice/pseuds/TheNerdVoice
Summary: This story picks up a few months from the last story and you may get confused if you don't read that first. When Cameron's bad decisions come to haunt him during a Christmas Eve shift, will his family be able to help him with the guidance of an old friend? Elinor attempts to escape her mother's hovering. Will the combined family manage to finish everything on their plates in order to celebrate a successful Christmas holiday together?Bringing the dead back to life one character at a time.
Relationships: Serena Campbell/Bernie Wolfe
Series: The Last Mission [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1438342
Comments: 20
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kelticscribe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kelticscribe/gifts).



> Ask and ye shall receive. Happy Christmas!

Slowly climbing out of her black sports sedan, Charlotte Wolfe closes the door behind herself. She looks up at the building before her, her thumb looped in the strap of the brown leather cross-body purse around her. A camel colored woolen overcoat warms her as she inhales and exhales slowly. Christmas is in the air. Carolers dressed in Victorian era clothing filling the air with song and she’s almost certain a hint of pine hits her nose.

Christmas Eve at Holby City Hospital has always been something to worry about. It was either incredibly quiet, or an overload. Charlotte’s very first one at the hospital, which was nice, actually. However, this one was different. She was actually granted the ability to have Christmas dinner with her family. Their first since her mother and Elinor Campbell’s sudden resurrections and Serena’s sobriety. Firsts all around.

“You know, they only start paying you once you’re inside.”

Her attention snaps over to the Nursing Director, standing on the other side of her vehicle. “Well, Fletcher, you look quite festive today.” The man wears a pair of Christmas print trousers and she’s sure there’s a suit jacket to match underneath his navy overcoat.

Adrian Fletcher beams to the younger woman, “thank you, Junior. I’ve a whole week’s worth to be able to have a different one each day. Tomorrow I’ve a blue one.”

“Well, I’m disappointed to miss it.” Charlotte offers him a soft smile, “but not really. Just take a picture and send it my way.” When he offers her his arm to her for them to walk together, “Evie spoke of heading over to Serena’s, are you getting to see your children at all?”

“In the morning, sure. I’m not in until a bit later. Hopefully I can speak to Ms. McGarry about just staying on call.” Fletch nods as they walk along, “how did you manage it?” When he notices her soft smirk, Fletch continues, “new kid on the block and you have a major holiday off...”

“I spoke to Ms. McGarry and she was quite generous...also, I’m set to work New Years’ Eve and the day after.” Charlie shrugs, seeming very nonchalant about it all, “doesn’t bother me any. Usually just a bunch of drunkards anyway.”

“Says you. Last year we had a fourteen vehicle RTC...that included a bus and several motorcycles.” Fletch smirks a little as they reach the top of the ambulance ramp. “Might call you back in anyway.”

“They can try, but I’m turning my mobile off.” Charlie winks to him as they part once entering the space. She casually makes her way toward the doors to AAU, waving her badge over the sensor to open the doors. She smiles at a passing nurse who welcomes her as she steps across the ward to her office. When she hears someone calling to her, she doesn’t look around, but is fully aware that someone is following her. “Can’t I just get myself settled?”

“No.” Cameron exhales softly, “Can I talk to you?”

Charlotte turns when she reaches her desk, absently removing her purse from across her chest before starting to unbutton her overcoat, “well, you’re good at annoying me, so...” She notices as he closes the door and enters the space a bit more. Pausing in her movements, Charlie watches as he takes a seat on her crimson colored sofa, “well?”

“Um...” Cam bites the inside corner of his mouth, “so, I know tomorrow is Christmas and-”

“I feel like I know where this is going.”

“I’ve been too busy here to actually...purchase gifts and-”

Charlie begins to nod, “yes, I was right.” She begins to scowl toward him, “I’m a bloody consultant, Cameron. I’m far busier than you. Know what I used? Online shopping...like everyone else.” She returns to removing her overcoat, placing it on a hook just behind her desk, her purse then placed in the lower drawer of her desk. She then stands upright, placing her hands onto her hip bones, studying him. “There’s something else to this or you wouldn’t be acting the way you’re currently acting.”

Cam begins to shake his head as he stands, “it’s fine, I’ll-”

“Cameron.” Charlie warns, “what’s going on?”

“It’s fine.” Cameron quickly leaves the office, not giving his sister any more time to grill him.

“Cam, bed seven. Male, mid-seventies, severely beaten and possible fractured knee. He doesn’t speak much English. Wife is with him, but she doesn’t speak much English either.” Donna follows up behind him, offering a patient folder.

“Well, what language does he speak? Can we get a translator?” Cam moves toward the bed, trying to get a bit of a look at the contents of the patient file. “Mister...” He trails trying to figure out his patient’s surname, “uh...Pee-wow-?”

The older woman sitting next to the bed motions to herself, “Helen Pi-vovad-chek.” The woman answers how to properly pronounce their surname of Piwowarczyk, “my husband, Josef.” She says a soft ‘y’ sound for the J, but Cameron knows the proper sleeping because of the file.

Cameron offers her a reassuring smile, “thank you, Mrs. Piwowarczyk. Your husband has some serious injuries. Might I ask how he obtained them?”

The elderly woman sits up a bit straighter, “It was those-” Her husband quickly places a hand on her forearm, almost as a warning. Helen gives a slight look toward the man before shaking her head negatively, “ _ I’m sorry. _ ” She switches to her native Polish language, her face downcast. 

Glancing between the older couple, Cam glances to the nurse next to him, “Scans on the head and knee. Depending on the wait, I’ll do an abdominal scan either before or after. Also full bloods. I want to know his CBC among other things.” He nods to Donna, setting the patient file into the basket at the end of his bed. “I’ll return in a few.”

Donna nods slowly, walking next to the doctor as they return to the nurses’ station, “I...I don’t really want to be  _ that _ person, but wouldn’t it be a good idea to get a consultant in on this? One Wolfe is in theater and the other just got in. I’m certain they would prefer if-”

“Do you think they’d offer up anything other than what I said?” Cam deadpans to the woman next to him.

“No, but I think-”

“Just don’t think, okay?”

Donna furrows her brow as she watches the cocky young doctor walk away from her. “Bad day, I suppose.” She mutters to herself, returning to her position behind the nurses’ station desk and taking a seat. She lifts her head when the doors to the operating theaters open and the other consultant on duty enters the space. “How did everything go?” She asks when Bernie Wolfe comes to a stop at the front of the department center desk.

“He’ll be touch and go for the next few hours, but it’s out of my hands now.” Bernie answers quietly, removing the olive drab colored head covering that Charlotte gave her a while ago, after she had returned as a surgeon to the Wyvern wing. “Charlie in?”

“Yes, just a few moments ago.” Donna answers quietly, noticing Cameron moving about the ward from the corner of her eye, but tries her best not to focus on him.

“Good.” Bernie nods, offering a quick smirk before making her way to her daughter’s office. She knocks on the door before typing the code into the metal keypad lock next to the door, giving her entry. “Morning.”

“Ah, yes. Good morning. I wasn’t aware there would be carolers at the staff entrance. Left quite the ear bug.” Charlie lifts a hand up, tucking a piece of her light brunette hair behind her ear. “Have you and Serena decided when dinner would be tomorrow?”

“Five or six?” The older Wolfe squints her left eye shut slightly, “honestly, I haven’t the foggiest. You should probably give her a ring. She and Elinor were supposed to be doing a bit of decorating.”

“Extended leave of absence and she’s just now decorating?” Charlie loops her stethoscope around her neck before standing from her desk.

“Serena used to love Christmas, but cut back quite a bit after we thought Elinor died and she needed all new decor. They’ve spent most of the time bringing Elinor back up to speed, getting her situated in her old room...going to the shops.” Bernie focuses on her daughter as the young woman nears her, “is that a rose gold stethoscope?”

“I have multiple stethoscopes. You know this.”

“That one just...looks really nice. I like it.” Bernie follows behind the younger consultant.

“Well, if you behave yourself for the rest of the day, maybe you’ll receive one for your birthday.” Charlie chuckles a little to herself as she steps over to the nurses’ station, pausing when the red phone begins to ring, “and here I hoped it might be a calm Christmas Eve.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wolfe women work together to save a patient.
> 
> Serena frantically calls her wife after an argument with her daughter.

“Unknown Male, approximately early sixties. Multiple abdominal GSW. Generally unresponsive, but there is a faint pulse.” Charlie barks the information into the space that was given to her by the ambulance medics. “Ms. Wolfe, any idea what type of firearm could have done this?”

“The spray says shotgun.” Bernie answers confidently, helping her daughter and the rest of their trauma team move the patient over to their own stretcher so that the ambulance team can have theirs back. “I need two liters cross match. We need to stabilize before taking him into theater.”

Charlie looks the man’s body over for any other wounds or injuries, seeing his knuckles bloody, “anything on the head? Reckon there might have been a bit of a brawl beforehand.” She absently goes through the motions, “we’ll probably be seeing a few of his friends soon. You want to intubate or-”

“Go for it.” Bernie absently shakes her head a tad, placing the blood pressure cuff as well as blood saturation monitor on his finger, “BP is low, but relatively stable.” It’s almost surprising to her, “sat is low though. Should be fine once you get that going.” She watches as her daughter moves to the head of the bed and effortlessly intubates their heavyset patient, “have you been practicing?” She smirks, raising an amused eyebrow toward her daughter.

“Practice makes perfect, Ms. Wolfe.” Charlie chuckles a little to herself, “am I faster than you now?”

“Don’t push it.” Bernie attempts to trace the path of the shotgun pellets. “This probably looks a bit worse than what it is.” She snaps her gaze to the side when the monitors begin to make an alert type sound.

“Stats falling quickly.”

Charlie doesn’t need to turn her head toward the voice, sighing a little. She didn’t need this today in the least. “Don’t like that one bit.” She mutters, trying to make it sound as if she’s speaking to herself, but the person next to her knows better. Glancing toward her mother, she notices the blonde occasionally look toward the spirit next to her with wide eyes, causing Charlie to give a deep throated chuckle. “Okay, emergency laparotomy. I’d open him up here, but I heard that’s frowned upon. Just keep him alive, please, as we scrub in-”

“You sure there’s time for that?” Raf di Lucca leans over, trying his best to see what’s going on with the patient.

Bernie sighs softly, “it’s fine, let’s see what’s causing it here. We just need to stabilize him. Airway is good. It’s just the trajectory of the pellets across his torso. Some are deep, this is where the brunt of the-”

“Getting warm, Ms. Wolfe.” Raf begins to smirk, “I know Fletch calls you Senior and Junior, but...surely that becomes rather confusing with everyone else.”

“Okay, okay.” Bernie notices a deeper opening in the larger wound to the chest cavity, “here we go.” She sticks a finger in the hole, trying to determine exactly where it could lead, hearing the machine instantly stop. “Okay...I’m...I’m betting I’m in the...aorta.” Noticing Raf tap the side of his nose, she can’t help except smirk a little, “or close to it. Either way, there’s a tear and it needs mending. Unless someone wants to...stick their finger in here-”

“I’ll do it.” An eager F1 smiles toward them, ordered to follow Bernie Wolfe around for the day, she was certain the older Wolfe had forgotten she was there. “Uh...Avery St. Clair, ma’am.” The young woman clarifies when the two consultants seem a bit confused about the young woman’s presence in the room.

“Well, Ms. St. Clair, you’ve earned your stripes.” Bernie tilts her head to the side for the F1 to move closer, then pauses when she takes in the woman’s attire, “get on a smock and a pair of gloves first. Once we get to theater, we’ll have a switch and you’ll be able to scrub in. Sound good?”

Avery begins to broadly smile, “yes, ma’am.” She allows one of the nurses to help her before carefully taking over for the blonde, the patient is wheeled out shortly after, leaving mother and daughter in the room alone.

“You need to change.” Bernie breaks the silence.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Charlotte removes her gloves and rips the smock from the front of her, standing next to her mother as she does the same. “You see him this time.”

“Charlie-”

“Mum, I saw your face. Don’t lie to me.”

Bernie takes a moment, deciding whether or not she actually wants to entertain the idea of the younger man being near them. “I took the call from Ric about his death. I was the one that held Serena when she tried to cope. I was the one-”

“I was at work when Serena phoned me about you.” Charlotte shakes her head, “Serena. Not Cam. He was busy losing his head.” Her eyes burn into that of her mother’s, almost as if she can see down into her soul. They’d never spoken about this since Bernie’s return. It was as if they didn’t need to, they simply chalked it up to water under the bridge. “I’d go over there...over to her house.” She pauses, doing her best to calm her own emotions. Charlie balls her hands into fists, digging her trimmed nails into the palm of her hand to best restrain herself. “Don’t give me the shit  _ you _ helped her through when she and I were there for one another with you.” She storms out of the Trauma Bay, quickly going to the staff locker room to get changed into her scrubs.

Sighing heavily, Bernie takes a moment, stepping from the Trauma Bay toward her own office for a moment, feeling the presence of the man on her heels. She opens her own office door and closes it behind her before lifting her head to see the man leaning against the space between the desks. “Well...”

“Let her go to theater by herself. Let’s have a chat.” Raf smiles toward the woman, “it’s been a while, Bernie.”

“It...it has.” Bernie responds quietly, still seemingly in a state of shock. Her memories of when she played with her own existence and watching over Serena had been coming back to her since returning to live with her now wife. “You’re the one that’s been visiting Charlie...for months. Since I’ve been back, correct?”

“Well, some of it was Elinor, but...” Raf begins to nod slowly, “who else could it have been, Major?”

“What of Mrs. McKinnie?” Bernie slowly lowers herself to the office chair behind her desk, “she was...the one that ran things before.”

“Still does. I see where Serena gets her tenacity.” Raf stands, folding his arms as his eyes follow down toward the consultant. “I’ve been...helping her where I can. Ever since Mrs. McKinnie put a bit of...fire under a few of us. I...I only ever want to help her...and you.”

Bernie begins to nod slowly, the space falling quiet between them for a moment. “Why not go to Serena?”

“She’s busy making up for lost time with her daughter...and you. I don’t need to go to her. She’s fine now.” Raf smiles to himself, “and busy here with hospital duties. Besides, that aspect of the story is finished. You completed your final mission. She’s safe now because of you and your actions...also with a little help from Elinor.”

“So, why are you here now?”

“And here I thought you’d be happy to see me.”

“Well, it isn’t that I’m not. I...” Bernie trails a little, “is something about to happen?”

“You mean besides Christmas tomorrow?” Raf raises an eyebrow, “you know I can’t answer that, but...listen...”

“Raf.” She glances away, trying to formulate some sort of plan, “I thought I was finished with this.” her voice remains fairly soft, her thumb absently running her own bicep as she crosses her arms over her chest. “I thought my family was finished with this. Charlie included. Haven’t we all done enough?”

Raf looks forward again, thinking of the words he wants to use, “this doesn’t have to do with you, but...at the same time, it does.” He stands, turning his head slightly, but not looking at the older woman again. “I understand your hesitation with all this. I do. I just...I refuse to let anything happen anymore.”

Bernie looks over to the space where he was standing, only to find Raf gone from her office. She shakes her head a little, wondering exactly what meaning his words have. Surely, the blended family she and Serena have put together has been through enough over the past year or so. Couldn’t their first Christmas since the reemergence of both herself and Elinor be one of celebration? 

Suddenly, her mobile begins to vibrate against her hip, nearly making her jump. Reaching into her pocket, Bernie brings the mobile closer to her, seeing her wife’s picture. It causes her to smile a little to herself. “Hello, you. How are Christmas preparations coming along?” She continues to smile, “should I expect to be walking into a Winter Wonderland when I arrive home?” When she doesn’t receive an answer right away, Bernie furrows her brow, “Serena?”

“I...Elinor said I was hovering.” Serena Campbell’s voice breaks, but she maintains her otherwise level tone of voice. “She...she stormed out. Without so much as a jacket. I tried to go after her, but...I haven’t the faintest where she’s gotten off to.” Serena shakes her head, “I don’t know what to do.”

“Could she have gone off to Edwards?” Bernie sits up a bit more in the office chair, “I know he’s been quite...dismissive and rejecting the idea of her being alive, but...she might still attempt to go to visit him.” She pauses, “or her friends or...whatever have you. Maybe she’s started to remember more of her time before she was taken.” When she’s met with silence on the other end of the line, Bernie nods a little, “I’ll head home now. We can drive around and see if we can find her.”

“Thank you.” Serena breathes out, lifting her hand to wipe away a fallen tear as she lowers her mobile to touch the screen to end the phone call. She swallows, glancing around her warm lounge. Christmas music playing from a record player next to the telly. Serena rises from the sofa and makes her way to the record player. She lifts the needle from the record of crooner classics and it takes everything in her power not to just crack the record in half out of frustration. Serena closes her eyes a moment, attempting to compose herself. Christmas wouldn’t be perfect if they weren’t all together this year.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cameron realizes his sister can read him better than he thought.
> 
> Charlotte finds someone unexpected in her office.
> 
> Bernie hears a voice she didn't expect to ever hear again.

“Is he going to survive?” Cameron stares toward the man in the hospital bed within AAU, waiting to be transferred to another unit once he wakes. There is a sense of uncertainty about the elder sibling, if not fear. This is someone he knows all too well in the bed before him.

“Aortic tear.” Charlie checks over her patient files, making sure to document what she needs to while it’s fresh in her mind. “Ms. Wolfe blindly stuck a finger in the penetrating hole and had an F1 take her spot and head with me to theater. An F1. Not that I mind, but...not exactly something I want to teach students as acceptable behavior.” When her brother seems confused, she continues, “abandoning a patient all of a sudden.”

“Abandoning is what Mum does best.” Cameron mumbles under his breath.

“Water under the bridge. Can’t build relationships without forgiving past indiscretions.” Charlie shakes her head, “besides, you’re just as guilty. You’ve buggered off to random faraway lands without so much as a phone call. Once, I had taken you a pot of stew and you weren’t even living there any longer. Landlord told me you had set out a few days prior.” She continues to make a few more notes, “that old woman and I shared a pot of stew and drank ourselves into oblivion. Helped that I spoke a bit of Polish.”

Cam snaps his gaze to focus on his sister, “since when have you spoken Polish?”

“I had a patient while I was an F2 and she was in this terrible RTC. Their vehicle was older and...crushed pretty badly. Patient was only four and...this was before the time of active translation mobile apps. She was so scared because none of the other...doctors or students spoke it at the time. Her parents were rushed straight to theater, father didn’t make it. Mother was touch and go for weeks. I...I just never wanted to...experience that again. It was a small private hospital and we did what we could.” Charlie swallows, doing her best to explain. She lifts her gaze, offering a simple, subtle smile, “I thought I might stay there longer, but...the hospital CEO...wasn’t terribly fond of me and I’d never be able to progress.”

“Someone didn’t like you? Say it isn’t so.” Cameron replies sarcastically.

“He asked me on a date. He was, at the time, as old as Grandad would have been. I turned him down.” Charlotte makes a few more marks on the paper, “since it was a privately owned hospital...he made sure to...put me through my paces.” She stops the thought suddenly, placing the files into the basket at the end of the bed. “I’ll put your name on a couple of my gifts. It’s fine. Just...stop, okay? Stop half assing your role in our family. There’s no reason you couldn’t have gotten them each something small. A book each, a...a couple of toys for Guinevere. You’re better than how you’ve been acting lately.”

A silence falls between them and Cameron knows he couldn’t possibly say anything to his sister about his current financial plight. “I have a patient who...is being quite secretive about his current injury. Even has his wife holding back. I think they speak perfect English, but are hiding behind their Polish tongues in an effort to keep me from asking questions.” He swallows, facing forward toward the man he knows all too well. “I didn’t know you spoke the language.”

“What’s the injury?”

“X-ray says a shattered patella, several broken ribs. Waiting on an MRI to tell me of any facial fractures. He looks pretty...rough around the edges.”

“So do you, but that doesn’t mean you need an MRI.” Charlie smirks to herself, knowing he’d give her an unamused look. “You want me to speak to your patient and his wife, I take it.”

“Well, if you know enough Polish as to not offend them, yes.” Cam nods, focusing on the man in the bed again.

“Look at how he watches.” Raf suddenly appears next to the younger Wolfe woman, “interesting, isn’t it?”

“Do you know him? My patient.” Charlie nods toward the man in the bed.

Cameron takes a moment before shaking his head negatively, “No...should I?”

“See how his mouth twitches?” Raf smirks to himself, “I bet you already do.”

“Never did have a good poker face.” Charlie mumbles to Raf.

“What?” Cameron looks to his sister, his eyes widening ever so slightly.  _ Was he that transparent or was she that intuitive? _

“You don’t need to tell me  _ how _ you know my patient, but don’t lie to me.” Charlie shakes her head, feeling Raf’s hand on her shoulder. “I’ll speak to your patient...then I want to speak to you, in my office. No more stories, Cammy.”

“Don’t patronize me. You might be my superior in this building, but you’re still-”

“Superior to you in every way outside of this building as well.” Charlie quips, finishing his sentence for him as she watches her elder brother. “My office after I help you with your patient. Am I understood?” She doesn’t need him to answer, watching as he takes his leave from the recovery area, his head hangs slightly. Charlie takes a deep breath, then exhales slowly, “why is he lying to me?” Charlie turns away from her patient, sliding her hands into her pockets as she casually makes her way back toward the rest of the unit.

“To protect you...at least, that’s his reasoning.” Raf walks next to the young consultant.

The answer only makes Charlotte more confused, “I have no need for protecting.” She waves her badge over the door sensor, finally gaining access to the rest of the unit. “Even if I did, I certainly wouldn’t ask Cameron for it.”

“You may not have a choice.” 

Charlie glances next to her, only to see that Raf has vanished as she continues the walk toward her office. She pauses when it appears there’s someone inside her office. “Donna.” She turns, facing the department head nurse as the woman obtains a few things from a supply cart. “You let someone in my office?”

“Well, it’s family. I thought it would be okay.” Donna answers, noticing the uncertain look on the consultant’s face, “if they weren’t trustworthy, I wouldn’t have done it.”

“I don’t trust many people, in general, so...” When she receives a knowing glance from the nurse, she sighs softly, making her way to her office again. Charlie types in the code on the lock of the door, finally catching sight of the young woman on the sofa. “Elinor? What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t take it anymore.” Elinor shakes her head, speaking quietly. “I’m...I’m sorry, I didn’t know where else to go.”

“It’s fine.” Charlotte can hear the quiver to the other woman’s voice as she closes the office door behind herself. Reaching up, she removes the cloth cap from her head, laden with simple hand drawn wolves covering it. She tosses the cloth onto her desk before sitting on the edge, opposite her step-sister. “Is it...the Christmas overload that I know Serena is putting into motion throughout the house or...something else?”

Elinor thinks for a moment, “a lot of things.” She swallows, “it’s...seeing photographs of myself on the wall with people I’m not terribly...familiar with and...Mum trying to help me remember when...I simply don’t.” Ellie shrugs, falling silent again. “Like...she keeps saying I wasn’t too keen on you or anyone during our last Christmas, but...I think you’ve been...very kind thus far. I have no reason to hold any animosity toward you.”

“Well, to be honest, the  _ you _ that you were then was...kind of awful. You were...unwilling to understand or accept how much your Mum had put into our Christmas festivities, but also into your gift. You just about tossed it aside and said you’d rather have money...even though it was a piece of your grandmother’s jewelry that your Mum had fixed up at a jewler for you. Then you acted as if you were disgusted with the fact that our mothers were together while saying you  _ have gay friends _ .” Charlie shakes her head a little, comfortably folding her arms over her chest. “You...played upon your parents’ desire to one up each other in an effort to make you happy. You also used a lot of the money that your parents gave you towards clothing, partying, and cocaine instead of, you know, things you actually needed while in Uni.” She pauses with a shrug, “a lot of things came out while you were gone.”

“I...I sound proper horrid.”

“You were a brat that knew how to manipulate others in order to get exactly what you wanted.” Charlie shrugs, “but then so was I once. Grew out of it. I think a bit of maturity goes a long way.” She watches the other woman still, “have you ever heard,  _ we grow through what we go through _ ? It’s...quite simple, while showing encouragement. I’ve been considering a tattoo.”

Elinor starts to smile a tad, “when I was younger, I always wanted an older sister. As...weird as that sounds.”

“And I always wanted a little sister, but we’ll both need to keep dreaming since you’re older than me by a year.” Charlie smirks when she hears Elinor let out a soft giggle. Feeling a vibration against her leg, Charlie reaches into the pocket of her scrub pants, fishing for her mobile. She huffs a chuckle to herself upon bringing her mobile to eye level and reading the message aloud, “ _ If Elinor contacts you, please let me know. Serena is losing her head after she stormed out. _ ” Lifting her gaze to her stepsister across from her, “must have been quite dramatic.”

Elinor shrugs, “I didn’t think so.” She sighs, “though I assume anything would be dramatic where I was concerned...since returning from my time away.” The gears have shifted in her mind. She has occasional flashbacks and nightmares during her time with Dr. John Gaskell, even her time living rough, but her mind was slowly attempting to protect her from then. Elinor only really remembers her time since arriving to hospital months prior and the constant reminding and talk from her past causes her quite a bit of anxiety.

“I could, um...” Charlie shrugs, lowering her folded arms from her chest as she stands from the edge of the desk, “I’ll let them know you’re okay so they’ll stop looking. You can...hang about here for a while. Then we can pop over to my place so I can pack an overnight bag, then head to the mothership for a bit of...childish festivities that I know our mothers, especially yours, would enjoy. How does that sound?”

“Are you sure?” Elinor raises an uncertain eyebrow, “sounds a bit dull to me.”

“We’ll make the most of it. Also, it would get Serena’s focus off of you for a bit.”

She gives it a moment’s thought, sitting up a bit more, “okay.”

“Great.” Charlie starts to grin, “we can even make a bit of non-alcoholic eggnog. I was going to bring it with me tomorrow, but why not tonight? Version I learned while in the states has bourbon, but with your Mum’s sobriety, I reckon we can make do with the lack of spirit.”

“You’re having a bit too much fun with this.” Elinor looks away, amused.

“Of course I am...at least this year. We have quite a bit to celebrate.” Charlie glances to her mobile again, typing a text message to her mother about Elinor being at the hospital with her, safe and sound.

Bernie touches the button on her steering wheel for the text message to be read aloud by the car’s computer. Her other hand is being gripped by Serena, who simply has tears in her eyes. “See? She’s fine, Campbell.”

Relief visibly washes over Serena as she bites her lip, still holding her wife’s hand. “History repeating itself, isn’t it?” Her question rhetorical, just a personal observation about her own behavior.

“How do you mean?”

“I...” Serena pauses, glancing over to Bernie in the driver’s seat, “I love her so much and want to...make her happy. In the end, I wind-up pushing her away.” She clears her throat, moving to absently look through the dashboard window, “she’s...she’s so unhappy here.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s the case.” Bernie shakes her head, glad they aren’t terribly far from their home. “I think you might be doing a bit of overthinking. Just...stop worrying so much about her happiness and worry about your own.” She pulls in front of their house, putting the car in park and turning off the engine. Bernie sits with her wife in the small sports car, looking over to her, “kids, no matter how old they get, are sponges where their parents are concerned. They’re able to pick up on any little thing, no matter how insignificant we deem it.”

“But I am happy.” Serena replies softly.

“Never was a very good liar, my Serena.” Someone says from the back seat, “both a blessing and a curse.”

It’s a voice Bernie never thought she’d need to hear again. A voice she thought left her subconscious. She feels her eyes start to sting, but does her best not to draw attention to the woman speaking from the back seat, especially when Serena doesn’t seem to hear it. “Darling, just...calm yourself. No need for Christmas to be stressful...especially with grown children. Only one we need to show off for a bit is Guinevere, and we’re already her favorites.”

“Easy to be favorites when you’re the only grandparent-like figures the poor dear has.” Adriene McKinnie leans forward, staying just behind her daughter, “now, you should both head inside before the snow starts. Wouldn’t want either of you catching cold.” She pauses, “you’re going to receive a bell very soon...and you need to ignore it.”

Bernie furrows her brow, not understanding where the woman is coming from, or what she is willing to ignore. She glances through the rearview mirror, meeting the other woman’s eyes before climbing from the car, following closely behind her wife as they head up toward the house.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cameron makes some admissions.
> 
> Charlie comes to a realization.

Cameron stands at the nurses’ station, watching from afar as his sister speaks with his patient. It seemed his mere presence put the man on edge. So, when his sister went up to him, all smiles, it was as if a sense of ease rolled over him. “She was right.” He says to himself, huffing ruefully.

“I’m sorry?” Fletch hears the young doctor as he helps out in the unit so that Donna could participate in theater since they were a little low on nursing staff today. “Did you say something?”

He didn’t think anyone could hear him, or that he actually said what he did in his head. Cameron sighs softly, turning his head, “my sister. She was taking the piss while I went to recovery to speak to her for a moment, saying she was better than me in every way. Thing is, she’s right.”

Fletch smirks to himself, “well, look where she’s come from.”

“We both came from the same place.”

“No, I mean...she was always advanced, right? She was a registrar before you, she was a consultant before you. At least that’s what your Mum said. She worked her arse off to get there. Setting any sort of personal life on hold, I’d assume. Whereas, you left. You lived a whole life that she never once thought of living.” Fletch thinks aloud, “I don’t know. I’d rather live a bit.”

“ _ This _ is her life.” Cameron answers quietly, then swallows. “I...I made some bad decisions and...I completely forgot about Christmas, among other things. She’s...she’s always there to save me...when it’s supposed to be the opposite. I’m her big brother, not the other way around. I’m supposed to be there to protect her.” He continues to watch her, seeming to even make his patient smile, “but I’m a shit brother.”

“I think you’re being too hard on yourself.” Fletch shakes his head, “I was in a tough spot for a while. Gambling addiction. I did everything I could think of in order to keep that aspect of myself quiet, but it ended up boiling over. I had to accept responsibility. I had to show that I was the one at fault. Especially with my children. They were much smaller at the time.” He pauses, “don’t even remember if my youngest one was even born yet.”

“How did you get out of your rut?” Cam asks in a quieter voice, finally looking over to the man.

“Never gave up. I worked harder and harder, got those guys off my back. Realized, if I was busy here or whatever, I didn’t have time for bad decisions.” Fletch shrugs, “might not make sense or sound healthy, but-”

“Makes perfect sense, actually.”

“For starters, you need to be honest with yourself and the people around you.” Fletch nods, “above all else. It’s the most important.” He takes a moment, shifting his eyes to the computer screen in front of him. He types a few things before looking back up to the doctor again, “now that Junior is here, and has been here for quite a while now, you’ve started slacking. More than you were before.”

Cam smirks, amused by the man as he nods slowly, “very funny.”

“You have the ability to be great and you’re just mediocre. You do just enough to get by.”

The older man is right. Cam licks his lips, looking over toward his sister. She stands, starting to walk toward him, but she motions him to her office with the tilt of her head instead of coming to the central desk. Cameron sighs heavily, “wish me luck.” He begins trudging toward his sister’s office. He pauses once through the door, he didn’t expect Elinor to be sitting there as well, reading through a book. His face drops slightly, “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“Leave her alone.” Charlotte shakes her head, “this is a family thing and we’re family.”

Elinor tucks a bookmark between her pages before closing the book and lifting her head, “if you’d feel more comfortable for me to wait-”

“I would.” Cam interrupts her.

“Shut up and sit down, Cammy.” Charlotte answers more forcefully. “She stays and you answer questions. Really, I’d call Jason in here as well, but I know how he has no real respect for secrets. So, you should feel thankful.”

“I don’t think it’s about respect, but he just doesn’t know the difference between secrets and casual conversation.” Elinor had been highly amused by the young man and his explaining to her about how she hit him with the car she was driving, and before he knew it...she was dead.

“That’s why if there’s a gift or surprise do for Serena or Mum, we have to go through Greta and she knows that she’s unable to say anything to him until they are en route to wherever.” Charlie smirks a little to herself, then glances back over to her brother again once the room falls silent. “Please, Cammy.”

Cameron sighs, closing the office door before finally lowering himself onto the sofa next to his step-sister. “I...Some of the guys I went to med school with happened to be at the same pub as I was. We watched a bit of footy and they asked if I wanted to bet a wager.” He shrugs, “it was fun at first. Made a bit of pocket money. Then I...couldn’t pay my rent and...one of my friends said that he knew a guy that could help me out.”

“A loan shark.” Elinor responds quietly, noticing his subtle nod. “But...your mum has money-”

“As does Dad...as do I. We would have helped you.” Charlie pulls the silk elastic from her hair before running her fingers through it. “Blimey, Cameron.”

“Your patient...is one of the guys that’s been...” Cam trails quietly, “he’s older and he doesn’t look like he’ll be very intimidating, regardless of his current state, but...he has people that work for him.” He swallows, taking a moment before pulling up the side of his shirt to show the women the bruise against his ribs that show definite fist markings. “Have a couple more on my back near my kidneys.”

Charlotte stands from her place behind her desk, moving over to her brother, “these are fresh.”

“Few days ago.”

“Why didn’t you phone the police?” Elinor leans over, looking at his bruises at the same time as Charlie. She raises an eyebrow when she notices Charlie give a soft, amused snort. “What...”

“When I was in med school, I...had a few issues. I was a kid. I was dumb.” Cameron shakes his head, lowering his shirt and leaning against the back of the sofa.

“Still dumb.” Charlie clarifies, then stands, placing her hands on her hips as she stares her brother down. The gears spinning in her head. “Your patient, the one you had me speak to, his wife gave a similar story in confidence. They own a small shop, not terribly far from here. Apparently my patient went in to demand protection money. When they told him they no longer required protection services, my patient started going after your patient. Wife quickly grabbed the shotgun after my patient got in a few good blows in with a cricket bat on your patient.”

Cam nods, “Probably the reason the patella presents itself in the way it does.”

“Is that the x-ray you were looking at before speaking to that man?” Elinor raises her eyebrows, “that injury must be proper excruciating.”

“Well, we make him as comfortable as we possibly can with a shattered knee cap before taking him into theater.” Charlie smirks a little, “has anyone phoned police?”

“Not that I’m aware.” Cam leans back in the seat more, “though I doubt they’ll do anything. He has them in his pocket.”

“I think you’ll be fine.” Raf stands in the corner of the room, a clever smirk on his face. “He isn’t looking for Mr. P though, he’s looking for Cameron.” He pauses, “Mrs. P shot him with a ten-gauge and he was looking for Cameron to stitch him up, but...that wound was never going to patch up. He’s their cut man. That’s how they keep him in their thumb and indebted to him.”

“How many bullet holes have you patched up, Cam?” Charlotte asks after a moment of silence for the rest of the room.

Cameron quicky lifts his head, “what?”

“You heard me. My patient came looking for you, not your patient.” Charlie lowers her arms, sliding them into her trouser pockets. “Why come here when St. James is a hop, skip, and jump away? We’re closer? We aren’t. Not to the location he was shot. They told me all about their small charity shop. How they’ve been running it for thirty-six years and never had a problem until the past few years. Spoke perfect English, but they preferred Polish and that’s totally okay. They just mostly seem scared.”

“Did he hit his head or anything?” Cam sighs softly, “MRI was...inconclusive.”

“It didn’t sound like it.” Charlie falls quiet, just keeping her eyes on her brother, “what have you gotten yourself into, Cammy?”

“A fine mess, if you ask me.” Elinor speaks up, looking between the pair. It’s as if she can feel someone on the other side of her, but knows the space to be empty. She glances over to it anyway, not really knowing what she expects to find.

“Strange.” Raf says quietly, glancing over to Elinor.

“Does anyone smell that?” Ellie pauses, “like whisky and vanilla...” She tilts her head to the side, “touch of bergamont?” 

Charlie glances to Raf, offering him a subtle wink. “Maybe it’s the essential oils I wear on occasion. Reckon the sofa probably reeks of it.”

“No, this...” Elinor stands, a confused, if not alarmed expression paints her face. “The...where I was kept...there were other people. I’m not the only one that was there. I just thought the others were dead, but...I never really checked.” She shakes her head, “there was a man. Handsome...with salt and pepper hair...” She bites her lip, “he...he smelled just like this. I wouldn’t forget that.”

Straightening her posture and standing, Charlie’s eyes widen, “you’re joking.”

“I can’t forget.” Ellie whispers.

“What’s happening?” Cam furrows his brow, watching when his sister begins to look in a direction where no one is standing as if there was something fascinating there. “Charlie?”

Charlie is unable to hide the smile forming on her face, “Raf...I think you might be alive.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old friend returns.
> 
> Charlie receives a confusing warning.

Serena lifts her head from its place on the sofa, watching a very lively conversation her wife is having on her mobile. The blonde’s smile is infectious as Serena feels the tugging at the corner of her mouth. Once Bernie touches the screen of her mobile, ending the call, she’s quick to ask, “What was that all about?”

“You’re never going to believe this.” Bernie turns toward the woman, “or maybe you will, all things considered.”

“Spit it out.”

“Elinor was having memories about other people being held where she was before escaping and living rough.” Bernie casually steps closer to the sofa, lowering herself down next to her wife, keeping her back straight. “Raf is alive, Serena.”

Serena’s eyes widen, dampening at the same time, “you’re joking.”

“He’s being processed on AAU and will, most likely, be transferred up to Keller for observation.” Bernie explains, “Charlie said her shift is nearly over and she’s heading here with Elinor to...make biscuits or something. It hasn’t been made very clear to me what they’re planning, but I know we’ll have both girls for the night.”

Falling silent, Serena gazes into her wife’s eyes, expecting the blonde to tell her it was a joke, but hearing nothing in return. “I need to see him.” She swallows, “I...please? I need to-”

“Sure.” Bernie reaches over, gently touching the back of her wife’s hand with her finger tips, glad when Serena turns her hand over. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, it’s...it’s a bit of a shock. You, then Elinor, and now Raf.” Serena exhales slowly, “I just...I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“That’s my Serena. Could never just take things at face value.”

Bernie swallows, hearing the voice of her partner’s dead mother somewhere next to her. “Maybe there isn’t another shoe. Maybe it’s just coincidence. Maybe it’s luck or...something of the sort.”

“You don’t believe in luck.” Serena reaches out, gently tucking a lock of Bernie’s hair behind her ear as she gently runs her thumb along her wife’s cheekbone as she gazes into Bernie’s acorn colored eyes, “you never did. You also don’t believe in coincidence.”

“I believe in you...and I don’t need any other reason.” Bernie leans her head into Serena’s hand, kissing her palm.

“You don’t need one, but I’m betting you have one.” Serena smiles softly, swallowing, “it’s okay if you don’t wish to tell me, but...”

“I just can’t.” Bernie’s face looks pained, “and even if I did, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“I might if you decide otherwise.”

Falling silent for a moment, just enjoying the comfortable quiet between them, Bernie nods, “thank you.”

Serena tilts her head to the side, “Berenice.”

“Your mother wanted to do something nice for you.” Bernie says quickly, knowing full well her wife wasn’t about to let that go. “She wanted to make you happy since things have been...awful for you in recent years.”

Falling silent, Serena furrows her brow, “my mother...”

“Yes.” Her answer is simple, concise. “She-”

“I thought you said you weren’t seeing her anymore.” Serena shakes her head, “I thought it was just Charlotte.” She appears worried, “it isn’t that I don’t believe you, darling, because I do. I-I simply assumed all of that stopped since you came back to me.”

“It did.” Bernie replies softly, lowering her eyes. “It’s only returned recently.”

“Is it a cause for concern?” Serena continues to gaze into her beloved’s eyes, “are you, or one of ours, in any sort of danger? It seems you and Charlie begin to see these things right before something bad happens.”

“Or something good.” Adrienne answers from the high backed antique chair settled not far from the sofa within the confines of Serena’s lounge, “I only allowed her to see such things because you were involved. It’s something you’ve always been able to do, Bernie. Same with your mother before you, and her mother before her. Serena was...something abnormal. Something that...would never be able to happen again.”

“Bernie-”

“And the only way she would be is if she were nearing her own end. Something neither of us want right now...with all the work we’ve done.” Adrienne responds quietly, “even with that blip when she was seeing Elinor before I brought her back.”

“Berenice.” Serena attempts again, finally garnering her attention, “are you okay?”

Bernie nods, almost absently, “yeah, fine.” She offers her best reassuring smile, though it isn’t terribly effective with the likes of one Serena Wolfe, who simply scowls at her.

“Help my Serena understand that she’s walking a very fine line right now.” Adrienne says before finally leaving Bernie’s peripheral vision, “and tell her I say Happy Christmas.”

To better quell her partner’s fears, Bernie leans in, softly capturing the other woman’s lips before pulling back and looking into her eyes, “promise.” The corner of her mouth turns up in a smirk, “your Mum just wants to wish you a Happy Christmas is all.”

“I find that hard to believe.” Serena mumbles, lowering her hand from Bernie’s cheek before getting up from the sofa. “Mum was never the biggest fan of Christmas after Dad died. Simply tolerated it for Elinor’s sake.”

“You always loved Christmas. Are you certain it wasn’t for you as well?” Bernie answers quietly, “I’m just glad to see Raf back.”

“Didn’t Charlie say she would see him?”

“We’d see Elinor as well, but we see how that went.”

Serena nods slowly, “okay. I-I don’t understand it, but...I can accept it.”

Bernie offers a meek smile, “thank you.”

“Yes, well, we had better get going. I hear they’re calling for flurries tonight and I wouldn’t want to get caught in that mess with the vehicles we drive.” Serena stands, holding onto her wife’s hand, she pulls the woman a little so that she stands. “How is the hip? I noticed you limping when you arrived home.”

“Oh, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” Bernie shakes her head, following behind her partner to the vestibule near the front door to pull on their overcoats, “reckon it’s because of the cold weather. Regardless of how much I keep it moving, I have to accept that I’m getting older.” She hears her wife chortle quietly as Bernie sighs to herself.

“You don’t appear that way though, darling. In better shape than many women half your age.” Serena zippers up her black quilted jacket before pulling on her leopard colored scarf and fur hat. “Not that there’s anything wrong with growing old, but you simply don’t act as your age...or your shoe size.”

“Thank you.” Bernie pulls on her pink wool peacoat and black scarf, as well as her black boots. “I’ll message Charlie and let her know we’re on our way.” Bernie brings her mobile out in front of her, typing a message on the moderately sized screen to her daughter.

“Well, the mothership is inbound.” Charlotte nods, looking over to her brother as he helps on the other side of their newest patient’s bed.

“Bernie, is that you?” Raf di Lucca asks groggily, “colored your hair.”

Cameron snorts, amused by the man. “Yeah, Bernie, why did you color your hair?”

“Shut it, you.” Charlie mumbles to her brother, then glances back down to her patient, “Mr. di Lucca, all things considered, a bit of dehydration and an infection at your wound isn’t so bad. You were a part of the shooting spree that happened here a few years ago, correct?” She knows the answer, knows of the memorial just off the ambulance entrance dedicated to him.

“I don’t remember.” Raf responds, visually confused.

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it.” Cameron reassures him.

“Serena and Bernie are on their way. I’m Charlie Wolfe, Bernie’s daughter. You may know my brother, Cameron.” Charlotte motions toward her mentioned sibling, “things are...probably quite different since you last worked here.”

“I...Essie? My wife?” Raf asks, his voice groggy.

“Unfortunately, Essie di Lucca died late last year...ovarian cancer.” Cameron responds quietly, “she and Sasha became close. He tended to her quite well, down to her last days.” He notices the sadness in the patient’s eyes, “I’m sorry, Mr. di Lucca.”

“Me too.” Raf nearly whispers, his eyes closing for a moment. “Was she...was she happy?”

The question makes Cameron pause, the Essie di Lucca he knew was sweet, but overworked herself. She was caring and resilient, ready to lend a helping hand wherever it was needed. “Uh...yeah, I believe so. Sasha gave her the world, but she never stopped thinking about you, though.”

“You said Serena’s on her way?”

“Yeah, she and my mother.” Charlotte nods, “your return is quite the talk of the hospital in a very short amount of time, Mr. di Lucca.”

“Usually is when someone comes back from the dead.” Cam smirks.

Charlie sighs, “alright, Cam. Can you check on those other two patients we’re keeping a close eye on?” She raises an eyebrow, “I’m just going to check vitals again and I’ll be right out. I’d love it if you got started though.” Noticing Cameron’s confused nod before stepping out of the room, Charlie looks her patient in the eye. “Raf...”

“I remember being in your office.” Raf responds softly, his voice just above a whisper, “I remember you. I only threw that bit in about Bernie to throw your brother off. How is that possible?” Noticing her slight shrug, “also, how does everyone believe me dead?”

“POS surgeon kidnapped you, just like he did with Serena’s daughter, and kept you elsewhere to do some experiments. Bringing the dead back to life. He succeeded, but we don’t know the long term effects of what he did to you both. Ellie had memory loss and confusion. Maybe this is just you being confused too.” Charlie knew better, much better. She gives his forearm a gentle squeeze. “I’ll be back in a bit. I have other patients that I must tend to at the mo.”

“Ms. Wolfe-” Raf starts again, causing her to turn around in the doorway to pay him attention. “Don’t go out there. You’ll regret it if you go out there.”

Charlie furrows her brow, exhaling slowly. “I have to do my job, Raf. I’ll be back though.”

Watching as she finally leaves the room fully, Raf sighs, whispering to himself, “I don’t know if you will.” 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AAU experiences an incident.
> 
> Charlie starts to experience what life is like on the other side.

It all happened so fast. 

Luckily after Bernie and Serena descended on the hospital once more to visit a dear friend they had previously written off as dead, and were led to believe as such, it was an amazing feeling to have him back. 

There was a yell of an active shooter in the AAU and all the exits leading to the rest of the hospital were locked, with law enforcement being notified. Two shots rang out in quick succession. Honestly, no one was sure if anything was hit until some staff noticed damage to the nurses’ station and had seen some cups fly off of a tray with, what they assumed was, the other shot.

Bernie Wolfe had tackled the gunman immediately after the shots rang out, restraining him with his face against the floor. His handgun splayed out a meter in front of him. Luckily, he wasn’t a very tough fight for the retired Army Major. “Is anyone hurt?” Hearing a chorus of most everyone claiming to be fine, Bernie breathes a sigh of relief.

The man who was the target of the gunman sits up in his bed, having gone through his surgery, his wife at his side until he’s moved to a step-down unit to heal for a few days before being released. Josef Piwowarczyk wonders why, after all this time, he’s the focus of ire from the group and why they’d go to such lengths to eliminate him. “ _ You’re okay _ ?” He asks his wife in their native tongue, needing to know for sure. Having a gun pointed in one’s direction causes a person to feel a particular sort of way, tears in his eyes when he wasn’t one to usually show any other emotion than disdain or anger. His wife would see an occasional smile, as would his children and grandchildren, but no one else.

Helen Piwowarczyk gives a slight nod, gripping to her husband’s hand out of fear. She watches the sight in front of her, quite impressed with the older blonde surgeon having tackled the armed gunman, and still holding him with a knee to his back against the tiled floor.

“Mum.”

Bernie lifts her head, noticing her daughter standing not terribly far from her, a bloody hand to her middle. The color drained from the young woman’s face, her other hand at her side trembles. “Charlie, no...” Bernie does her best to keep her emotions at bay, but feels herself trembling as well. 

Charlie slowly falls to her knees, just watching her mother’s terrified face. She offers the woman a half smile, able to taste as blood begins filling her mouth. She glances over when she sees the middle aged woman she saw when her mother was brought back, and several times after, having learned that she was Serena’s mother. “Not yet.”

“Leave her alone.” Bernie pleads, able to see the woman as well, “please, just leave her alone.”

“I don’t make these calls.” Adrienne answers simply, her tone sad. It’s obvious this isn’t something she wants to do. “We may still be able to turn this around.”

Elinor had been observing through the window of the secondary office, finally leaving the confines once things seem to calm down enough, glancing to her new stepmother on the floor with a knee to the perpetrator’s back. She takes stock of the area, watching her stepsister crumple to the floor. “Charlie.” She strides past everything else going on, crouching to the floor to help the other young woman to lay flat.

“Put pressure to the wound.” Bernie watches, but notices how confused and alarmed Elinor appears. “Ellie, put pressure to the wound.” She repeats, able to see the slightest bit of Serena in her in that moment.

Nodding a little, Ellie pushes her hands to the dark, maroon spot on the young surgeon’s scrubs. Noticing how pale her stepsister’s skin looks, especially with the stains of blood on her hands. “Charlie, can you hear me?”

“Yeah.” Charlie answers, blood slowly dripping from her mouth, “you might break a nail.” Her voice languid as the corner of her mouth turns up in a smirk. She coughs, getting specks of blood onto Elinor’s cream cashmere sweater. “Sorry, El. This Christmas was supposed to be a good one.”

“It will be.” Elinor shakes her head, trying her best reassuring smile back to the other woman. She lifts her head, seeing her mother rushing toward them from the trauma room where she was hiding with Raf. “Mum, I reckon she’s losing a lot of blood.”

“Yes, I see that.” Serena kneels, glancing around and glad when she spots Donna slowly standing from behind the desk. She tilts her head for the nurse to move closer.

Donna carefully moves around the gunman, kicking his pistol further from his hand as she steps over to the other surgeons. She quickly grabs some clean towels that were resting on one of the supply carts before kneeling next to the wounded surgeon, doing her best to help. “These should help.” She starts shoving the cloths into the wound in order to retain as much blood as possible.

Once security enters the room, Bernie quickly scrambles over to her daughter, looking to her face. She can feel the young woman slowly slipping from their grasps. Bernie does her best to keep tears from her eyes, to keep her wits about her. However, when it came to her children, she was always a lost cause. “Charlie, keep talking to me.”

In a flash, Charlie stands above the commotion, gazing down to the pale and bleeding form of herself. She tilts her head to the side, glancing to the middle aged woman decked out in white standing not far from everything, “Mrs. McKinnie.”

“Hello, dear.” Adrienne offers a sad smile. She wraps a gentle arm around her, “this isn’t something you should be seeing.”

“It isn’t my time.” Charlie responds softly, shaking her head. “The return of Elinor, Raf, and even my Mum...should not mean the end of me. Serena’s happiness should not rely on my mother’s unhappiness.” She swallows, “if I must...to ensure that they’re safe and happy, I’ll-”

“Oh, you’re much smarter than that, girl.” Adrienne tilts her head to the side, “no lover, no life, all of it put aside for your medical career and what have you to show for it? A bullet to the belly and grasping at your life’s threads in an effort to stay here on Earth so that your Mummy won’t get upset?” She laughs a little to herself, “when will you learn that none of that matters?”

“It’s more than that.” Charlie swallows, “I need to be a sister to Elinor and Cam...even Jason, though he seems a bit unsure with that arrangement.” She watches the woman in white, “I gave myself to help others...if I were to go today, I’d be satisfied with my accomplishments, but...this isn’t my time. I know this isn’t my time.”

“It’s only the end if you assume the story is about you.” Adrienne’s smile grows a bit, “And what do you suppose you’ll do about it?”

Crouching in front of her mother, Charlotte does her best to get the woman to look at her. Ignoring the other spirit’s question. “Mum, don’t give up. Tell her the intestines were hit. She probably already knows that though. Large intestine, yeah? I can feel it.”

“Charlie, please.” Bernie whispers to herself, unable to see her daughter’s spirit, but able to feel her presence. Glancing to her hand when she feels as if someone is grabbing, and pulling on her wrist so that she’s closer to the body. The grip guides Bernie’s hand to the young woman’s belly, over the affected area. “I know. We’re working on it.” She whispers again.

Serena glances to her wife, knowing what’s probably occurring, “is it her?” She mutters, nudging Bernie with her elbow when the woman doesn’t realize she’s speaking to her. 

Bernie nods a little, obviously terrified by the turn of events. “Large intestine.” Her voice just above a whisper.

“I’ll take care of it.” Serena bites her lip, glad when other staffers swarm the area, helping to put Charlie on a stretcher and rush her towards theater. Though Serena is technically on holiday, there is no one else she is willing to allow to do this surgery. She will always do her best protect her partner from the same emotions she felt for so long until her daughter was returned to her.

Charlie follows behind her body through the hallway toward the AAU theaters, walking alongside Adrienne McKinnie, “I need to...I can’t let-”

“You did what you needed to do, darling. However, you should have a look in on your mother. Your brother will just be getting back to the department as we speak.” Adrienne nods, “you have a bit of time. Your procedure will take a bit.”

“But I’ll be okay, right?” When the woman doesn’t answer, Charlie asks again, “Mrs. McKinnie, I’ll be fine, right?”

“When you feel the pull, you’ll know.”

Charlie furrows her brow, thinking of the woman’s cryptic words as she turns away, moving back toward the rest of AAU. It was different though, some time had obviously gone by. How much, she didn’t know. Her blood is cleaned from the floor and there’s hardly a trace that anything happened in the first place. She makes her way to the primary office, her mother’s office, only to see the blinds closed. Charlie reaches for the doorknob, humming a soft chuckle to herself when her hand moves right through the door.

Bernie sits on the sofa just under the windows, her elbows resting on her knees while her hands cover her face as she sobs as quietly as she possibly can. She lifts her head, feeling the air in the room change. “Charlie...don’t you dare stop fighting.” She swallows, standing suddenly, quickly wiping away the tears that had dampened her cheeks. “I know you’re here.”

Charlie reaches out to squeeze her mother’s upper arm. She smiles a little when the woman quickly glances down to the spot she’s touching. Charlie has never seen her mother cry. Not once in her entire life. She remembers her father saying that her mother was always cold and never wanted children in an effort to sway Cameron and herself to take his side in the divorce. It worked for a little bit, until Charlie quickly realized what her father was all about. Appearances, and nothing more. That her mother was only a bystander in her life instead of truly living it how she wanted. She was more her mother’s daughter than she thought.

Hearing a knock at the door, Bernie lifts her head, “I’m...I’ll be out in a-”

“Mum, it’s me.” Cameron answers from the opposite side, only to be met with silence. “One of the nurses told me what happened...” He pauses, biting his lip before continuing, “are um...are you okay?”

Bernie sniffles back quickly, clearing her throat in an effort to calm herself. “Yeah, Cam, I’m fine. I’ll...I just need a minute, please.”

Cam places his hand on the door, “I know Charlie’s not...not doing too well and Serena is-”

“Cameron.” Bernie tries again, her tone isn’t forceful, but just warning in nature.

“Your daughter could die and you don’t even care.” Cameron replies angrily, immediately regretting his words. “I’m sorry, just...don’t shut yourself off please.”

“What a prick...” Charlie mumbles.

“Don’t talk about your brother that way.” Bernie answers absently, then glances over toward the direction of the voice, seeing the room around her empty. She swallows, closing her eyes a moment. If they ever needed a Christmas miracle, it was now.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrienne helps Charlie understand her role in her life.
> 
> Cameron begins to realize the aftermath of the loss of his sister.

“This is hard.” Charlie says quietly, sitting on the edge of the nurses’ station desk. “Seeing the people you love hurting so much...and knowing there isn’t anything one can do to make them feel better. Even Ellie...who I definitely didn’t expect to have any reaction.”

“She’s a different person now compared to her time before. She always wanted a sibling...and you’re what she has now.” Adrienne explains, “you, your brother, and Jason. You’re all a family now and you’ve all grown much closer because of events beyond control this past year.”

“Just like this.” Charlie nods a little, “this was supposed to be a great Christmas. Mum and Elinor back, even their friend Raf.” She huffs a rueful laugh to herself, “and I’m not even going to be around to see it.”

“Quite pessimistic of you.”

Charlie hums, “I’m just a realist, Mrs. McKinnie.” Her chin begins to tremble, tears filling her eyes. “I just...I still have so much to do. I just focus on work because it’s what I do best. I’m not one for personal relationships, I’m not one for...touchy-feely sentimentals-”

“That’s not what I saw when you went to check on your mother.” Adrienne glances over to her, “you want to be that way, but you just-”

“Don’t know how to do it?”

“You do. I saw you and my Serena grow closer when you thought your mother was lost. Same with your brother. You opened yourself up enough that you allowed yourself to be present, mentally, and allowed Rena to comfort you. You talked things through, you were even one of the reasons she decided to change the course of her life. Decided to stop the drink.” Adrienne explains, her arms folded as she leans against a pillar not far from the younger woman.

“Mum did that, not me. Mum got her to quit.” Charlie shakes her head.

“It was an amalgamation of several things, but you were a part of it...whether you believe me or not.” Adrienne shrugs, a smirk playing at the corner of her mouth, “that’s entirely up to you, but you know the answer. You would have been dead long before now had things played out the way they were set to the first time.”

The statement causes Charlie to make eye contact with the older woman, “Yeah?”

Adrienne hums her approval, “you changed her definition of family.” She stands up from her leaning position against the pillar, walking toward the AAU theaters. She isn’t surprised when she hears the younger woman following behind her, “she asked your mother to marry, not the other way around. Something she said she’d never do again, but that all changed when she felt like her life was whole...for the very first time.”

“But...she had a family before us. She had a husband and a daughter, a job she adored...”

“There was no love in that relationship with Edward, just the thought of love.” Adrienne shakes her head, “hopes and dreams she had for the perfect family, perfect house, perfect car, but she never achieved a perfect life. Edward was the component that made that difficult and Elinor certainly didn’t help once she started her manipulation game.”

Charlie nods a little to herself, “she has all those things with Mum now...”

“And she doesn’t need to soak them in shiraz.” Adrienne finally walks through another swinging door, leading to the operating theater where Charlie Wolfe is currently on the table fighting for her life.

“What will happen?” Charlie asks absently, then glances to the other woman when she doesn’t answer, “if I...if I don’t go back...”

“That perfect life that we’ve all worked so hard on for her, goes away.” Adrienne answers simply, “your organs are used to save a dozen other people, giving them a better chance at life. In life, or in death, you continue to help others.” When the young woman begins to smile to herself, Adrienne continues, “but at what cost to those closest to you?”

“Charge to three-hundred.” Serena calls out, doing her best to hold herself together as she watches the heart monitor. “Come on, Charlie.” She whispers to herself, biting her lip afterward. When the machine continues to flatline after a couple moments, her voice begins to cloud, “three-fifty...”

“Ma’am, we’ve shocked her five times already.” Avery St. Clair shakes her head from the other side of the gurney, “anything further and you’ll risk damaging-”

“Now, you listen here.” Serena snaps her gaze toward the young F1, “Ms. Wolfe is an amazing surgeon who has devoted her entire existence to her craft. She is also my stepdaughter. If you think I’m about to-”

“Serena, there are other people who could use her organs. If we continue to shock, we could damage them.” Donna responds honestly from behind her mask, “the very last thing Charlie would want is to take someone else’s chance of life away in order to save her own.”

“I mean, she isn’t wrong.” Charlie tilts her head to the side, watching the scene play out.

The nurse’s statement gives Serena pause, “I’ve been down this road before. It’s...not something I’d wish on my worst enemy, much less my wife.” Her eyes well with tears as she inhales sharply, “one last time, then we can call it if we need to.” When both the nurse and student surgeon give a nod of understanding, Serena lifts her hands, “clear.”

“You know, it’s been lovely speaking with you, Mrs. McKinnie, but...it’s not my time just yet and I think you always knew that.” Charlie offers the other specter a soft smile, “will you be waiting for me when it is?”

“Of course.” Adrienne nods, accepting a hug from the young woman. “Just appreciate what you have now...because you never know when it may all just go away. Am I understood, Ms. Bossy Britches?”

Charlie nods, “I have a job to do.” She offers the older spirit a salute before she begins to climb up onto the operating table. “Happy Christmas, Mrs. McKinnie. It was truly a pleasure to speak with you today...and all the times before. Serena might look like her father, but she has your heart.”

Adrienne starts to smile to herself, “Happy Christmas to you as well, darling. Make the most of it.”

Serena closes her eyes, finally allowing a tear to escape. “No output.” Her breath is shaky as she looks to the clock on the wall, “eighteen-fifty-seven.” She slowly begins to back away from the young woman, “clean her up. Bernie’s going to want to see her before we harvest anything and we need to be quick about it.” Serena quickly removes her gloves and gown, shoving them angrily into the hazardous waste bin before moving to the scrubbing room to wash her hands. She feels terrible, like a failure.

Suddenly, just before the monitors are removed from the young woman’s body, a small, yet significant, beeping can be heard. The room silent before, it was something that caused everyone to stop what they were doing and to look at their patient.

Avery shakes her head a little, “that’s...that’s not possible. Could they be aftershocks?”

“I mean, possibly, but...” Donna gently takes the young woman’s hand before feeling for her pulse on the inside of her wrist. “It’s steady.” She begins to grin, “Sere-” Donna stops herself, realizing the scrub-in room to be empty.

“I’ll go and find her.” Avery quickly begins to remove her gown and gloves, shoving them in the hazardous waste bin before swinging into the scrub-in room herself. 

Cameron bursts into the area, his eyes wide and red from crying, “I need to see her.”

“No, mate. Just wait until she’s cleaned up.” Fletch tries to hold him back, hot on the doctor’s heels, “you don’t want to see her like that. Especially if she’s still opened up. You don’t want to remember her that way.”

“Did you cause this? I saw Serena.” Cam shouts at the F1 attempting to scrub her hands and forearms, “your ineptitude is well known around here. In fact, Wolfe Pack should be getting rid of you any time now. Is that why you made sure she didn’t make it?” He references the term used throughout the hospital for the current consulting team of the AAU.

“Don’t take it out on her. She had nothing to do with this.” Fletch continues to hold the younger man back, “your Mum needs you now...and someone needs to phone your father.” He continues to hold the doctor back as he glances toward the door of the operating theater.

Cameron has tears in his eyes as he runs his hands through his hair, “I forgot all about Dad.” He swallows, “he’s...he hasn’t spoken to Charlie in months. He’s going to be heartbroken...and on Christmas Eve.” Cam starts to shake his head, “Mum is already...” He trails, trying to catch his breath.

Avery slowly glances over toward the commotion of the two men, her voice just above a whisper as she trembles with fear from the possible ire of her patient’s brother, “she didn’t-”

“What...suffer? Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Cam furrows his brow, feeling his anger and frustration rise.

“Wait, wait...” Fletch stands upright, loosening his hold. “Listen.” He moves Cameron aside so that Avery can quickly leave the room. “Am I just imagining that?”

Cameron lifts his head, able to hear the sound as well, “I’m...I’m confused.”

Fletch moves over to look through the window connecting the two spaces, “it’s a heartbeat. She has a pulse.” A grin begins to grow across his face, “she has a pulse!” He repeats, giving the other man an excited hug. “She’s alive. Junior’s alive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Eve! I hope everyone has a wonderful one.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raf gets his friend to open up a bit to him.
> 
> Bernie receives news that no parent wants to hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Christmas, everyone!

Raf was informed by one of the younger nurses about what was occurring after Serena ran from his room, how Bernie Wolfe had tackled a man in the main area of the AAU, and how Charlie Wolfe was shot. He glances over to the blonde sitting at his bedside, “you really don’t need to sit with me, Bernie. I know your head is probably in twenty other places at the moment.”

It takes Bernie a moment to realize the man is talking to her, her face emotionless. “We came back here to see you. This is the last thing anyone imagined happening.” She offers a soft smile, “besides, what would I be doing except sitting in my office wallowing?”

“I know I never had the same relationship with you that I had with Serena, but...know that I’m here for you too if you wish to just...vent or whatever have you.” Raf continues to watch her a moment more before glancing to the doorway, “there’s no telly in this room, so I’ve just been watching people as they walk by.”

“Best case scenario is keeping you a bit longer for observation and to build your fluids back up in that time. You actually weren’t in awful shape when you were brought in, at least that’s what Charlie put in your file.” Bernie huffs a soft chuckle to herself, “she’s always been better at paperwork than myself.”

“I just remember Ric hounding you constantly to get it completed.” Raf smirks, glad she seems to begin to relax in her seat. “Two of you were like Mum and Dad for a while around here until you joined Serena in France.”

Bernie nods, “he’s acting CEO while Serena’s on holiday, catching up and spending time with Elinor. Honestly, it’s exactly what she needed.”

“Cameron was telling me about how they had thought you were dead until you were found months later in a local hospital in Mogadishu and airlifted here, severely malnourished and with a broken hip.” Raf raises an eyebrow, “I imagine that was an adventure.”

“It was.” She folds her arms comfortably, leaning back against the chair, “I don’t remember much of my time there, but I remember being wheeled in and both of my children were...actually thrilled to see me for once.”

“Oh, don’t think that way.” Raf shakes his head, “I’m sure it was more than just when you returned home.”

“I should say, they seemed to be actually getting along for a change.” Bernie exhales an amused sound.

“Typical siblings then.”

“Well, I think there’s a bit of jealousy on Cameron’s part. Charlie was always quite precocious growing up, advancing through her levels at amazing speed. She was able to start Uni earlier, and the medical program earlier, she became a registrar earlier, and a consultant earlier. When she moved here, he was ready to turn in his resignation.” Bernie explains, “to his credit, he was unaware that his little sister was his boss when he came into work that day.”

“I can only imagine.” Raf nods, “Fletch tells me she’s taken Evie under her wing a bit.”

“Evie helps her around the office. She doesn’t do anything medical related, of course. Just helps file papers and makes sure her office is cleaned up. Does the same with ours.” Bernie nods, “she’s been lovely to have about. Keeps us on task...and puts a smile on Serena’s face to have her close by.”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to see her.” 

“I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to see you...as will the other Fletchlings.”

Raf laughs a little to himself, “yeah...I miss ‘em.” He shrugs, “then I’ll complain about them, but...I do it with love.”

Bernie smiles softly to herself, lifting her head when she sees her wife in the doorway, her smile slowly fading from her face once she notices the redness of Serena’s eyes. “Campbell...”

“I uh...can we talk? In the office?” Serena swallows, unable to look to the woman, “it’s-it’s important.”

Honestly, Bernie knows she isn’t going to like what her wife has to say. She knows it’s going to be the words she’s been dreading for hours. She stands, walking around Raf’s bed to file into the office she and Serena share. Bernie stops once inside, facing her office chair. She waits until she hears the door close behind Serena. “I could feel her...while you were in theater. She...” Bernie trails closing her eyes as she swallows.

“She fought valiantly...until the final second.” Serena wants to gather the blonde in her arms, “and I am...I am so, so sorry, Bernie. I’m sorry that I couldn’t save her.”

“This isn’t your fault. Large intestine GSW bleeds quickly.” Bernie nods a little, trying to keep her wits about her. “I have to tell Cameron.” She pauses, “notify Marcus.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“No, the funeral will be hell to plan if I’m not the one to phone him.” Bernie swallows, “she deserves the best send off we can manage. Marcus and I getting along just for that would be nice.” She has tears in her eyes, but does her best to keep it from her voice, “make things the slightest bit easier.”

Serena gently places a hand on her wife’s shoulder, “Bernie.”

“And I’ll have to clean up her apartment...maybe see if Cameron would prefer to stay there instead of living with roommates like he is now.”

“I’m here to help you.” Serena continues, “you don’t have to hide your face...because I know what this feels like.”

“Elinor came back though, Serena. As...as awful as her history was after you believed her lost, John Gaskell isn’t here to kidnap Charlie’s body and turn her into some sort of Frankenstein’s monster.” Bernie shakes her head, still glancing toward her desk. “She’s never coming back, Serena.”

Serena removes her hand, licking her lips as she moves to the sofa just under the windows, “when we thought you were gone, she and I became very close. I wanted to see to it that she was tended to...Cameron as well, I wanted them to know that they could always come to me for whatever they needed.” Her eyes begin to heat with tears, “there was many a night when...I just held her while she cried...for you.”

Bernie turns around, but isn’t able to look directly at her wife, “she didn’t deserve this...any of this.”

“Bystanders rarely do.”

She sniffles, her nose starting to turn red, as it often does when she cries. “We’ll...donate what we can. She’d have wanted that.”

“I thought you might like to see her first...before we start to harvest.” Serena offers, watching her partner. Glancing over toward the door when she hears a knock, “busy.” Another knock, more frantic, “be out in a moment.” Her tone is more forceful, more serious the second time. Hoping whatever staffer dares to knock during such a time gets the hint.

“You’re needed in theater.” Avery tries, “you weren’t finished Ms. Wolfe’s operation.”

“You were to close her up.” Serena sighs, standing. She opens the door, scowling at the young F1 in front of her. “When I say we’re finished, I mean we’re finished. That’s your signal, because of the outcome of that particular jaunt in theater, to finish. Or is it too difficult for you to stitch up a deceased patient?”

“That’s just the thing, she isn’t deceased.” The young F1 starts to smile, shaking her head, “you were washing your hands one moment and the next heart started to go in rhythm. When we tried to get you back to finish, you had left theater completely. Presumably to change your clothing. We all know how you hate your scrubs.”

Serena’s eyes widen a little bit, “what?”

“Ms. Wolfe has been an encouraging mentor and I hold her in high regard.” Avery shakes her head, “so, you’re needed in theater to finish where you left off. Donna is seeing to it that C-Wolfe continues her stability while I’ve run out to get you.” She uses the name they use for Charlie Wolfe, it’s a problem they quickly realized when they all found themselves with the last name Wolfe and no one to tell them apart from one another other than their first names.

Bernie isn’t sure what to make of it all, watching as her wife walks briskly from the room, back toward the locker room. “This is definitely going to be a Christmas Eve none of them will ever forget.” She notices the shimmer of a familiar face next to her, “was this you as well?”

Adrienne shrugs, “I wouldn’t say that.”

“Well, what would you say?”

“She’s responsible for her own existence. Just like everyone else.” Adrienne offers the blonde a smile, “just like you and Elinor...and your friend Raf. He was always very sweet to my Serena.”

Bernie falls quiet, waiting a moment before she continues, “did she consider not returning?”

“What difference will it matter for you to know that information?”

The question in reply causes Bernie to pause, “I suppose there is no difference.”

“She’s your daughter. Think of the time when you simply weren’t. You were ready to allow yourself to die fully in order for Serena to have happiness. Why do you think your Charlotte would be much different?” Adrienne shakes her head, “saving the lives of a dozen was a much more preferred idea than saving her own life. That’s just how she is and you know that.”

Bernie nods, “thank you for guiding her, Mrs. McKinnie.”

Annette smirks a little to herself, “Happy Christmas, Ms. Wolfe.”

“Happy-” Bernie turns to face the woman again, seeing she’s alone in the room, “Happy Christmas.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie tries to hold it together.
> 
> Raf speaks of Charlie's importance, much to every one else's confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know it's past Christmas, but...I just finished this and I thought I'd share it anyway.

Bernie is awakened by the sound of her daughter gagging on her intubated breathing tube. She blinks slowly, trying to gather her wits about her, “Charlie, relax. You’re still intubated from your surgery.” Bernie stands, walking around the bed. She knows exactly where her supplies are that are needed to remove the tube. “Just relax and stay quiet for a moment.” She carefully removes the tube, quickly putting a nasal cannula on the young woman’s face and tucking the extra tubing behind her ears. “That-a-girl, just focus on breathing for a few moments.”

“Bloody hell.” Charlie croaks a bit, still slowly waking from anesthesia. “Time is it?”

“Bit after two.”

Glancing toward the window in the intensive treatment room within the confines of the AAU, Charlie begins to smile, “black as pitch...two in the morning?” She hears her mother hum a sound of approval, “snowing out.”

Bernie looks down to her daughter, following her eye line toward the window, “seems that way.”

“Snowing on Christmas.” Charlie blinks lazily, “you should be home with Serena for Christmas. Helping her see to it that Elinor has a good one now that she’s back.” She continues to watch the falling snow, “and Raf. Make sure to get Raf something.”

“I thought I told you not to talk.” Bernie makes a couple of quick notes in her daughter’s file, such as the time she removed the breathing tube.

“It’s past visiting hours.”

“I do what I want.”

“Me too.” Charlie smirks, clearing her throat with a soft groan. She starts trying to slide herself over a little, “come and sit.”

“You shouldn’t be moving so much, Charlotte. The very last thing you need is to pop a suture.” Bernie sighs softly, “just stay still.”

“Mum, please.”

Licking her lips, Bernie returns the binder of patient information back to the small basket at the end of the bed. “The bed is far too small and I wouldn’t want to-”

“I just want you close.” Charlotte responds softly, glancing away from the woman, her eyes dampened with tears though she tries to bury them deep, “I apologize.”

Bernie bites her lip, knowing she’s putting up her brick wall as she often has a habit of doing when it comes to showing emotion toward anyone that isn’t her wife. She carefully climbs into the hospital bed with her daughter, sliding her arm behind the young woman’s neck so that Charlie can rest her head against her upper arm. “You’ve nothing to apologize for.” Bernie swallows, “I’m just...not at my best when stressful situations are out of my hands.” She pauses, “and you gave us quite the scare, my darling Charlotte.”

“I wasn’t aware fear was an emotion you had.” Charlie gently rests her head against her mother more.

“Right answer.” Bernie smiles softly to herself, letting the room fall into a comfortable silence before she speaks, “I thought I lost you.”

“I thought I was lost.” Charlie bites at her own chapped bottom lip, “but I realized that it’s only the end if I assume the story is about me...which it isn’t. Everyone else lives on...dealing with the repercussions of my actions...or inaction.” She swallows, a terrible ache coming from her midsection. “I need to do better...I need to live life and not make all of this...this hospital, my surgical career, my career in general...I can’t only do that.”

“Quite philosophical of you.” Bernie carefully reaches across her daughter, pressing her call button before leaning back again.

“I hate that this happened here.” Charlie blinks, “don’t exactly like people to...see me weak.”

“Yeah, we both have that issue.”

“Don’t like to be a burden.”

“You aren’t.” Bernie smiles a little to herself as Charlie leans against her a bit more, “never have been, never will be.”

“I want you to go home and spend Christmas with Serena and Ellie, Mum. Gwennie deserves to have her Bunny with her for the holiday.” Charlotte glances lazily toward her mother. “I know how ticked you get with the girl.”

“Children are quite amusing at that age. There’s a sense of wonder about them, amazement. They get excited over any little thing.” Bernie explains, “I had made strawberry jelly while she was over last and you would have thought I gave her the most mesmerizing thing in the world. That was just the jiggle, when I showed her she could eat it...well, I was her favorite person that day.”

“You bought her love.”

“It was for sale and I wanted it.” Bernie smirks, bending her arm to stroke her daughter’s hair gently.

Fletch enters the room, touching the button on the wall in the back of the bed to turn the call button off. “Junior, good morning, doll. Happy Christmas.” He nods, “same to you, Ms. Wolfe.”

“Merry Christmas, Fletcher.” Bernie watches her longtime friend, “who is on duty currently?”

“Ange is covering AAU at the moment and I’m just around to spend time with her so I can see the kids in the morning. Best of both worlds.” Fletch cheekily smiles, “Would you like me to fetch her?”

“I would, thank you.” Bernie offers him a half smile, watching as the man leaves the room. “When Serena returns, she said she’ll just continue to go by the name Campbell, just to make things easier for everyone. Wolfe outside the hospital.”

“Yeah?” Charlie can tell how her mother is attempting to break the silence with small talk, an effort to put her mind at ease, “any word from Ellie’s father?” She blinks lazily, just looking up at her mother.

The way Charlie looks at her, it reminds Bernie of when she was a girl, tired and trying to keep herself awake. Always afraid she’d miss something important if she slept. Something Bernie realizes Charlie has never grown out of, she tries to keep herself from laughing, “darling, let’s just worry about you for the moment.”

“I don’t want to worry about me. Everyone deserves a nice Christmas.” Glancing over to her mother as best she can, Charlie raises an eyebrow, “even you, Mum.”

“I have a whole life to look forward to, making up for lost time. That’s my greatest Christmas wish.” Bernie sighs softly when the young woman moves and grimaces again, “all I ever wanted...and that’s what I have now.” She finds herself absently, gently twirling her fingers around Charlotte’s honey brunette hair.

“Turning into a sap in your old age.” Charlie mumbles, her eyelids growing heavier though pain keeps her from falling back asleep.

Ange Godard knocks on the door frame before entering the room fully, looking to the pair in the bed. It’s a vision that she never thought she ever would see, never figuring Bernie Wolfe to be the maternal type. However, it seemed to come naturally once she gave herself the chance. “Happy Christmas.” She offers them each a smile, “good to see you awake, Charlie.”

“Good to be seen.” Charlie smirks, “what’s the likelihood of me getting out of here today?”

“Are you joking right now?” Bernie responds incredulously. When her daughter fails to shake her head negatively, she continues, “bullet to the belly where you died on the table and you want to be discharged less than twelve hours later. You’re positively mad.”

Ange casually folds her arms across her chest, watching the pair, “I always knew the two of you resembled one another, but I never realized you acted like one another as well.” When it earns her playful scowls from both of the Wolfe women in tandem, she chuckles a little to herself. “To answer your question, Charlie, I reckon you’ll be in for a few days at very least. Do you have anyone at home that can tend to you once you’re out or we can make arrangements with a home nurse to-”

“We’ll have that situated.” Bernie is quick to interrupt, “she tended to Serena and I when we were poorly, it’s only obvious that we’d do the same for her in return.”

“Sounds like you’re doing it out of some sense of...duty.” Charlie sighs softly, her face contorting slightly when she attempts to change positions. “I don’t want you to feel like you must-”

“Quiet, you.” Bernie mutters, looking back to her coworker, “Ange, any chance she could score something for pain? If not a self-controlled morphine drip?”

“Like I said, there’s more of you in her than you give yourself credit for. I doubt she’d even push the button.” Ange shakes her head, “I’m going to suggest a light sedative, possibly a timed medication dispense. You really need some sleep, Charlie. Especially since I bet a wager that you’ll have quite a few guests in the next few hours.”

“I’d better not. They should be celebrating. Not here.” Charlie shakes her head.

“Complains an awful lot for someone just brought back from the brink of death.”

Charlie lifts her head a little, knowing the voice quite well. However, it didn’t sound like it was in her head anymore. It didn’t need to be, “Raf?” Honestly, she thought that bit about caring for him within the Trauma Bay was all a dream, if not hallucination due to current events.

“Couldn’t sleep.” Raf appears next to Ange, pushing an IV drip by the pole. He offers his hand to the woman, “Fletch’s told me much about you.”

“Likewise. You’ve made his Christmas.” Ange smirks toward him.

“Wouldn’t have been possible without this one.” He motions with a wave of his hand toward Charlotte. “She’s a bit of a catalyst. Guides those thought-to-be-lost back to the here and now. Bit of...paranormal whatsit, but...she’s brilliant at what she does. Same with Ms. Wolfe. I’m...I’m always thankful for her as well.” When the other woman seems a bit confused, Raf shakes his head, “it’s alright. Just...see to it that Charlie has the best care, yeah? I’m not...able to help her in that area at the moment.”

“You didn’t start to until a few months ago...and it wasn’t anything I couldn’t have already done myself.” Charlie smirks, quite aware the other two women have no idea what they are talking about. She begins to laugh to herself, only to groan loudly and close her eyes. “Fuck me.” She mutters under her breath, hissing after.

“Going to get those meds I mentioned.” Ange nods toward the younger patient before glancing back to Raf, “and it’s back to bed with you, mister.”

“I’m just glad Fletch has found himself a proper Scots woman to take his heart.” Raf smirks, baking away from the room to move toward his own.

“Bed...or I’ll be hitting you with a cast iron pan instead of giving you a simple sedative to help you sleep.” Ange warns, closing the hospital room door behind herself.

Bernie glances down to her daughter, still comfortably tucked in her arm. She smiles a little to herself, bringing her free hand up to gently caress the young woman’s cheek. Bernie honestly doesn’t know what she would do without her daughter, or without her family as a whole. Found and biological. Being apart from the other half on today of all days, certainly isn’t easy for her.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elinor makes plans.
> 
> Cameron tells his sister who is responsible.

Elinor leans back against the back of the sofa, within the fully decked out living room of her mother, taking a sip of her morning coffee. She notices how absent minded her mother seems as the woman makes herself busy with cleaning up the ground floor of the house, “Mum, come and sit.”

“Well, Jason and his brood should be by around ten. I just want to make sure things are perfect before he gets here.” Serena replies quietly.

“No, Greta text me a few hours ago. Said they should be by a bit later since they’re stopping to the hospital to visit Charlie first.” Ellie takes another sip of her drink, “must say, I agree with them. I’m surprised you didn’t offer-”

Serena stops in the doorway, looking at her daughter. “Why didn’t he text me?” Seeing her shrug, Serena sighs, “I could have...slept a bit longer.” She mumbles to herself, running her fingers through her own hair.

“You didn’t sleep, who are you kidding? You can’t sleep without Bernie now.” Ellie smirks to herself, glad when her mother takes a seat on the other side of the sofa, “I could hear you moving about, up and down the stairs, in the guestroom to fix the bed linens. Taking a bath around three.”

Sighing softly, Serena shakes her head, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I didn’t sleep.” Elinor answers quietly in her drink before taking a sip, letting the liquid warm her body. “Couldn’t sleep.” She licks her lips absently, “I um...I would have gone sooner, but I thought you might want to ride together...instead of me catching a ride share.”

“Yeah.” Serena responds quietly, “this...this was supposed to be a perfect Christmas. I-I have Bernie and you and...Raf...” She shakes her head again, “this is the best Christmas I could have ever imagined and...I wanted to ensure that everyone else had a great one too, but-”

“Fate is a bitch.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Serena mutters with a nod. She licks her lips, turning on the lights of the house with a single command to her smart home system, something Charlotte and Jason put throughout the house when Serena and Bernie were poorly and couldn’t move about as well as they can now. Jason had made sure the Christmas lights were linked to the network as well once they were put up by Elinor and himself.

Elinor downs the rest of her coffee, setting the mug onto the table in front of her. “I say we just take Christmas to hospital.” She smirks, “I can take the small tree from my bedroom, we take the gifts. I can let Greta know, hopefully they haven’t left their flat. Same with Cameron. Christmas cheer all around.”

“Do you think that would work?”

“Mum, nothing about our family is  _ normal. _ Normal is a bit boring and we’re far from that.” Elinor offers, a smile creeping across her face.

“I’ll take Bernie a change of clothes.” Serena is surprised to see the excited look of her daughter, “are you certain about this?” She stands, pausing at the doorway.

“Of course.” Ellie nods, standing. When her mother turns around, she stops her, “Mum.” She steps around the table and over to her mother, wrapping her arms around her in a tender hug. “I appreciate all you’ve done this year, all you’ve done for Christmas, and for me...just...thank you.”

This was the very last thing Serena was expecting, her breath catches, tears forming in her eyes as she returns her daughter’s embrace. “Of course, darling.” She breathes out, closing her eyes a moment as they continue to stand there. Serena places a hand on her daughter’s cheek once they start to separate, “I’m not throwing away my second chance. I love you to pieces, Elinor.”

Elinor begins to smile again, “love you too, Mum.” She reaches up, quickly running her finger under her mother’s eyes to sweep away her tears. “My first with little Guinevere...and being back home in a few years.”

“Four years.”

“We’ll have many more, Mum.” Ellie accepts her gentle smile before letting the woman go fully. She retrieves her mobile from the device’s location on the sofa, next to where she was sitting.

Greta swipes her finger across the screen of her mobile phone when receiving the message from her husband’s cousin. “Your idea of taking Auntie Bernie and Charlie’s gifts to hospital was a good one, Jason. Elinor said we’re all having Christmas there. So we can take her gift and Auntie Serena’s gift to hospital as well.”

Jason smiles a little, glancing over to his daughter, eating her eggs from her place in her high chair. “Do you think Auntie Serena and Auntie Bernie will like their gifts this year?”

“I don’t like assuming anything.” Greta tilts her head to the side, getting Guinevere’s Christmas ensemble ready. Navy blue velvet dress with a gray cardigan, silver thread throughout, matching silver round toe flats. If there’s one thing her daughter loves, it’s to sparkle. “You need to wash up and get changed, Jason, if we’re to arrive at the hospital at the beginning of visiting hours. Also, I need you to put the gifts in the boot of the car.”

“That’s a lot of things.” Jason takes another bite of his cereal, watching his wife. “Don’t you need to bathe Guinevere?”

“I do, that’s why I’d rather you get your’s out of the way.” Greta moves closer to the small breakfast nook table, running a hand through Gwen’s caramel hair, her daughter turning her attention up to her mother. “You finish up. You have a big day today. It’s Christmas.”

“C-ma” Guinevere replies, sing-song. Using the hard C sound in her best attempt at pronouncing the Christmas holiday, she giggles to herself.

“Yep. You get to see your Auntie Charlie-”

“Ti Charmie”

“-and your Auntie Ellie.”

“Ti Ew-we.” Gwen replies proudly before shoving another chubby handful of egg into her mouth.

“Charlie and Ellie.” Jason replies quietly, the fact that his daughter doesn’t quite pronounce anything correctly bothering him. Luckily, Greta and his aunts had talked him down, explaining that the girl would grow out of it. He drinks the milk left from his bowl of cereal. “Did you put out my jumper for me, Greta?”

“Yes, the blue one with the tree on it. I thought if we matched, it might make for a nice family picture.” Greta offers, “for the three of us. Obviously, I don’t know what everyone else might be wearing.”

“I imagine Charlie will be wearing a hospital gown.” Jason answers, taking his bowl and spoon to the sink to wash up.

“The probability of that is high.” Greta watches him, waiting for him to leave the room before she begins to text on her mobile again.

Cameron smirks, reading the text message on his watch, sending out a quick reply. He lifts his head, looking to his sister’s sleeping form. His mother having gone to her office to take a power nap on the sofa. He moves closer to the head of the bed, taking a look at his sister’s monitors and checking various IV bags leading into her.

“Stop worrying, Cammy.” Charlie smirks, not opening her eyes for another few moments.

“I’m your big brother. I’m allowed.” Cam watches as she finally opens her eyes, “Mum went to grab a kip in her office.”

“She needs to head home. Her back is going to bother her.” Charlie clears her throat, glancing to the window when the sunlight enters the room gently through the shades, “time is it?”

“Quarter to nine.” He replies quietly, “heard you had trouble sleeping last night as well. Wouldn’t hurt for you to get a bit more shut eye like Mum has.” Cam pulls up the chair his mother was previously occupying to sit close to his sister. “Happy Christmas, by the way.”

“Happy Christmas.” Charlie turns her head to better watch him, “you shouldn’t be here. You should be over Serena’s with everyone else...taking Mum with you...or even over Dad’s, but I don’t think Mum would want to go there.”

Cameron shakes his head negatively, “Dad is in Chania...in Greece. I’ve phoned him, told him what was going on. He wanted to be on the first plane back, but I talked him down.”

“Thank god.”

“Promised we’d video conference with him later. That was the only caveat to ensuring he stay there.” Cameron smiles softly when his sister appears relieved, “that patient you were helping me with, they’ve been asking about you every half hour. Don’t be surprised if they pop in at some point.”

Charlie smiles softly, “they were delightful.” She blinks slowly, “what of my patient?”

“Moved to Keller, into a secured room. We think the gunman was related in some way or another to him.” He lifts a hand to run through his hair, “it was St. Clair’s father, Charlie.” Cam says quietly, watching his sister. When she appears confused, Cameron continues, “the man that shot you...it was Avery St. Clair’s father...and he was after me.”

“He aimed at Mr. Piwowarczyk.”

“I know, but...it’s the same guy that’s threatened me before. I...I hid. I was...I was in the car park when I noticed he was watching me...then I hid down at Pulse’s and he tried to use the elevator there, but...it wouldn’t work because he didn’t have a badge. He took the stairs.” Cam licks his lips absently, “and...and I didn’t...I didn’t try to stop him...and he nearly killed you.”

“Cam, you couldn’t have known.” Charlie reaches her hand out, “what’s done is done. We can’t focus on that. Just...make better choices, yeah?”

Cam lifts his head, looking at her open hand. He carefully places his hand in hers, “Yeah.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena wakes her wife.
> 
> Everyone gathers to have a Christmas only their family could enjoy.

Serena stops at her office, which she was previously informed that her wife was asleep within, typing the code on the silver door lock with her thumb. She smiles softly when she sees Bernie asleep on the sofa, wearing a pair of scrubs with her drying blonde hair on the pillow behind her head, having taken a shower in the on-call room bath. Setting the tote bag onto her desk, Serena takes a seat in her desk chair, slowly rolling to be closer to her wife. She gently glides her short nails through Bernie’s damp blonde hair, “Berenice.”

Bernie jumps a little, not expecting to be awakened. Having been facing the back of the sofa, Bernie adjusts her position to lie on her back, “Morning, you.”

“Merry Christmas, darling.” Serena smiles softly, “you’re back is going to hurt if you stay here much longer. Why didn’t you go to the on-call room?” She continues to stroke Bernie’s hair, just gazing adoringly at her face.

“I wanted to be closer to Charlie’s room.” Bernie yawns, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth. “This couch is more comfortable than you give it credit for.” She stretches a little, slowly adjusting her position to sit up, “what are you doing here? You should be with Elinor at home, not here.”

“Well, I brought you some clothes to change into...and Elinor had the brilliant idea that, since you and Charlie couldn’t make Christmas to ours, we would bring Christmas to the both of you.” Serena raises her eyebrows when her wife seems surprised, “including gifts and...possibly a tree.”

“You smuggled a tree in?”

“I wouldn’t say smuggled...”

“What would you say, then?” Bernie starts to smile, reaching over to gently run her fingers along the back of Serena’s wrist, glad when the woman turns it over to take hold of her hand.

“I’d say you should change your clothing and come to Charlie’s room.” Serena leans in, capturing Bernie’s lips tenderly. Taking a moment, she leans back to look her wife in the eye, “I forgot your toothbrush.”

“I hear we have a few of those around here.” Bernie chuckles a little, quickly pecking Serena’s lips again before getting up from the sofa and grabbing the leopard print cloth tote at the same time. “I’m going to change in the locker room...so that I can borrow a toothbrush from the stockroom as I pass.” Bernie moves to the door of the office.

“No, you go ahead, I’ll fold the blanket.” Serena replies playfully, seeing Bernie’s cheeky smirk through the window blinds as she passes. She straightens up the office, knowing full well of her wife’s occasional messy nature. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad this time. Few empty coffee cups, empty takeaway container, a thrown pillow on the floor. She sighs softly, amused that she’d put up with Bernie and her ways. Lifting her head again, she notices Jason and Greta walking through the hallway, knowing the very independent Guinevere would want to walk on her own instead of being carried. She finishes up quickly, following behind them.

Guinevere Haynes cautiously steps over to the hospital bed, seeing her Auntie Ellie setting up a small Christmas display in the corner of the room with a table top tree, which sits on the over bed tray table. Looking at her other aunt in the bed, eyes closed, “Ti-ti Charmie. It me.” Gwen says in a loud whisper, reaching up to her aunt’s forearm.

“Guinevere, don’t touch.” Jason quickly tells his daughter, pulling her hand back reactionary, startling the girl and causing her to cry.

Serena folds her arms, leaning against the door frame, “Jason, she’s fine.” She sighs, crouching down when the girl slowly walks over to her.

Gwen’s chin dimples, more than happy when her great-aunt lifts her into her arms. “My ‘cared.”

“I know you’re scared, but it’s okay.” Serena knows to deflect, “Auntie Charlie is just having a rest at the moment. We’re just waiting for Bernie to get here and we’ll help Charlie to wake a bit more.” She offers the toddler a smile, “I love your shoes, Guinevere.”

“Ta. Dey ‘parkle.” Guinevere tries to hold her foot out to show, then motioning to her cardigan, “dit too.”

“You’re right. It does sparkle.”

“Gwennie, look.” Elinor smiles softly, amused by her mother and her pseudo-niece. She motions to her own shoes, a pair of sparkling red flats, “we’re both sparkling.”

“We do!” Guinevere offers a broad grin, her tears subsiding, leaving her with a set of wet eyelashes.

Greta tilts her head to the side, studying Charlotte as she rests in her bed, “isn’t this too many visitors in one room? It could be a fire hazard.”

“We’ll be very careful.” Jason takes her hand, offering her a reassuring smirk, “I know everyone else will be, so we can be careful too.”

“We’re fine. Less likely of having a fire here than if we were at home.” Elinor hears the other young woman, “no candles here, plenty of overhead water sprinklers. Only electric things are the monitors, phone charger that I brought in for Burnie while she’s here, and the plug for the tree.”

“My Bunny here?” Guinevere lifts her head.

“Your Bunny?” Serena raises her brow, setting the toddler back down once she’s settled a little, laughing a little when the girl nods, quite sure of herself. “She’ll be back here in no time.”

Charlotte blinks, watching Guinevere and her stepmother as she slowly pushes the button on her bed, raising her head up a little. “Not a single one of you knows how to be quiet...except for Guinevere, she’s perfect in every way.” She smirks, slowly taking in the room a bit, “that’s a very small tree.”

“Happy Chrimbo.” Elinor folds her arms, stepping closer to her stepsister. “You look proper terrible.”

“Elinor.” Serena warns.

“I’m not saying it in a bad way. I brought some things to...fix her up a bit...if she wants.” Elinor offers with a subtle shrug. “Like...not any clothes, but...cosmetics. Figure we’re close enough to the same shade...and she doesn’t need much.”

“Just make sure my brows look presentable.” Charlie smirks, noticing Elinor’s pleased smile.

“My he’p?” Guinevere watches her pseudo aunts, moving closer to them.

“You can put gloss on Charlie at the end.” Elinor nods to the toddler, helping her up onto the bed before retrieving her own cosmetic bag that she had discretely shoved into her own purse before she and her mother headed out.

Gwen smiles broadly, glad to be included. “My he’p, Ti-ti Charmie.”

“That’s what I hear. Thank you.” Charlie lets the pair do whatever they please, using the opportunity to close her eyes again. Her arm absently wrapping around the toddler to keep her from wiggling about with excitement, “Gwennie, did Father Christmas bring you anything?”

“Two book, two puddles-” Gwen nods as if the woman can see her, “pitty chews.”

“Puddles are puzzles.” Greta clarifies, smiling softly that the other women have been so warm and welcoming with her daughter, “and the last thing was pretty shoes. I think she means the ones she has on now because Father Christmas did not place shoes under the tree...or any clothing.”

“My like pitty chews.” Gwen dangles her feet over the side of the bed, grinning as the light from the window hits the silver sparkles of her shoes and spreads them around the room.

“Wasn’t aware we were in a disco.” Bernie stands next to her wife in the doorway, looking completely different than what she did when her wife had found her in their office. She’s done her hair, brushed her teeth, even put a touch of makeup on. She places an arm around Serena’s waist, wearing the gaudy Christmas jumper Serena had packed for her without a single complaint.

Serena smirks a little, leaning against her wife, “I don’t know how you prepare yourself so quickly all the time.”

“Wolfe magic.” Bernie hums a soft chuckle, glancing over to their daughters. “Where did Cameron get off to?”

“Ran to Charlotte’s to pick up gifts.” Serena turns a little to better face her wife.

“So, he’s just putting his name on them with her because he never got around to picking any up.” Bernie nods slowly, knowing her son quite well.

“Don’t give him any slack. He’s dealing with enough.” Charlie hears the elder two women in the doorway, opening only one of her eyes to look at them. “Reckon we need more chairs in here...make us a bit of a...chair circle.”

“Have I mentioned she’s on a strong hydromorphine?” Bernie snorts, better wrapping her arms around her wife, only to be interrupted by her son with a bag hanging over his shoulder, “Well, Father Christmas, you look a bit younger since I last saw you.”

“Very funny, Madre. Happy Christmas.” Cameron offers his mother and Serena a smile, glad when they let him through to set the large cloth bag on the floor near their makeshift, tabletop tree. He walks back over to the pair of older women, offering each a kiss on the cheek. “New year, new me.”

“Well, if you say so.” Serena pulls him in for a tender hug. This past year has been quite the roller coaster for their entire family and they could only look up from here.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie and Serena open their gifts from their children.
> 
> The Wolfes share a quiet moment together at the end of the night.

“Is she hurting you?” Greta appears nervous once her daughter comfortably cuddles up in the crook of Charlotte’s elbow, quickly falling asleep. “If she is, I can put her down in one of the offices-”

“Nonsense, She’s fine. She’s had quite the busy day.” Charlie smiles a little to the younger woman. “Well, seems the only people who haven’t actually opened their gifts are the Mothership from Cam and I...also Ellie...and Jason.” She laughs a little, “The green, shimmery paper is from Jason. The red is from Cam. The silver is from Elinor. The gold is from me.”

“Color coordinated?” Serena raises an eyebrow, “you all know this is far too much.” She sits in her office chair that she had wheeled into her stepdaughter’s room.

“We worked together and Charlie wrapped them.” Jason answers honestly.

“She’s a bit OCD when it comes to wrapping gifts...probably from years of Mum wrapping...in her own way.” Cam smirks a little, hearing the room laugh. He realizes his sister knew her brother would ask her to put his name on some gifts long before he even did it. “Charlie bought mine. I can’t lie to either of you.”

“And mine, but...only because she offered and Mum wouldn’t give me a moment of peace.” Elinor rests her elbow against the mattress of Charlie’s bed, laughing a little to herself when her mother scowls playfully toward her. “Deny and you lie.”

“Do you blame me?” Serena mumbles, beginning to unwrap Jason’s gift first. A pair of leopard print slide on medical clogs for Serena and Army camouflage print for Bernie. “I was just talking about getting a pair of these. I wasn’t aware they made this print.”

“Greta found them both and conversed with Elinor to obtain your shoe sizes.” Jason smiles toward them, proud of his wife and her investigation work.

“This is the exact DPM I wore when I served.” Bernie smirks to the couple, “thank you. I love them.”

“They’ll probably help your back and hips, Berenice.” Serena nods, “I’ve read much on them.” She explains, carefully folding the paper to throw into the bin nicely.

“Mine next. I’m red.” Cameron sits up a little, curious as to what his sister may have purchased for them.

Bernie opens the long box, half expecting a piece of jewelry. Probably something she had already been given from Marcus all too long ago. However, she’s wrong. “A smart watch?”

“With a band that will match your navy scrubs. I have one as well...to match my shoes.” Serena seems quite pleased with these gifts, “and they’ll sync with my mobile?”

“And the house.” Greta nods.

“Should make a complete network throughout your house. You’ll be able to contact and do whatever you need to without hardly needing to look at your mobile screen.” Jason smirks, “must say, I’m jealous.”

“Don’t be.” Charlie winks at him, “but I’ll get those to you later. I told Cam to just grab for Gwen and the Mothership.”

“I do like that, actually.” Bernie raises her eyebrows, “thank you, Charlie.”

“Cameron.” Charlie corrects her mother, wanting her brother to get the praise even though she was the one to actually purchase the electronics.

“Mine next.” Elinor nods, “I’m really hoping you like them.” She says quietly, biting her lip. Elinor had lost her knowledge of what her mother actually liked, even though they were spending quite a bit of time together as of late. Luckily, Charlie was there to help her out a bit. “I’m the silver.”

“Small one.” Serena smiles a little, again folding the wrapping paper before putting it into the waste paper bin. She picks up the delicate bangle, noticing numbers on it. “What are these?”

“You each have the same thing.” Elinor nods, “um...those are the longitude and latitude coordinates of the Holby City Hospital car park, where you met. I think we’ve all heard that story about a half a dozen times.”

“It’s a good story.” Greta nods, focusing a little on her mobile though she still remains present with the rest of the room.

“And the necklace?” Bernie holds up the thin gold chain, a pendant at the bottom of it.

“Our birth stones.” Ellie nods, “Cam, Charlie, Jason, and I. Your...you know, your children. Your family.” She sees the way her mother bites her lip, “god, Mum, don’t cry.” She sounds the slightest bit embarrassed, but she’s actually glad her mother has this reaction. Means her gift meant something to the woman. “Nothing terribly bougie, but...” She shrugs.

“Other side just says Wolfe.” Bernie smirks, carefully putting the necklace on herself right away.

“Well, it wasn’t big enough for Wolfe, Haynes, Campbell, and Dunn. We aren’t a law firm.” Elinor shakes her head, “so, since you both have the last name of Wolfe now, I figured it would be the best choice. Also, Mum, your’s is silver and has Bernie’s birthstone on the back. Bernie, yours is gold and has Mum’s. Thought they were both best suited to match with your other jewelry.”

“Help me with mine, darling.” Serena offers her silver necklace to her wife, not needing to lift her hair in order for the woman to carefully put it on her. “I absolutely love this. You’ve all done far too much.” She exhales slowly, able to maintain her composure despite her glassy eyes.

“Don’t relax too much. Still have mine.” Charlie nods, noticing her brother secretly taking pictures of everyone as they sit around the room, including of their mother and her wife. “Doubt I’ll be able to beat the others though.” She smiles a little. “One at a time, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Serena nods, glad when her wife motions for her to go first. She carefully folds the paper after opening the gift before she tosses it into the bin. Serena holds up the off white infinity scarf with what appears small writing on it, “what’s this?” Serena furrows her brow, seeming to be confused.

“That has the text from the first medical journal you ever penned. Made very small...and fit all over a cloth without a single page repeating.” Charlie nods, “I remember reading it while I was in medical school and I thought it was brilliant. You’d have made a fantastic scientist, Serena.”

“That’s...I’m impressed. This is fascinating...and I’ve come a long way since then.” Serena begins to look over the words, holding the fabric out in front of her as she attempts to focus, “I need to get my eyes checked.” She mumbles to herself, “but that bit of information doesn’t leave this room...or the perpetrator can expect blackmail.”

“Glasses could be pretty hot.” Bernie mutters into her wife’s ear, smirking when the woman begins to blush.

“You next, Berenice.” Serena responds with a creamy voice.

“Gross.” Elinor whispers to herself.

Bernie laughs a little to herself, opening her gift and offering her wife the paper, knowing she’d want to fold it to carefully put it into the bin. A large clothing box. She looks down, recognizing the military garb. “This isn’t mine.” However, she runs her fingers over the  _ Wolfe  _ name patch on the breast of the jacket.

“No, it isn’t. It was Grandad’s.” Charlie nods, letting the woman fully remove it from the box.

“How...What...I don’t...” Bernie shakes her head, standing as she holds the jacket to herself, gently smelling the collar as she closes her eyes. Somehow, it still smells of her father.

“Someone mark this date and time down, the moment Berenice Grizelda Wolfe was rendered speechless.” Cam smirks, watching how excited his mother seems to be. “You win.” Cam mumbes to his sister, amused by the display.

“When we thought you were gone, I was contacted by some of your old Army brethren. They had found Grandad’s coat in an old...storage locker. I don’t really know the gist of its location, but I know it was set away for some reason.” Charlie explains, “they were going to give it to you upon your retirement, which those fools assumed would be at any point. However, since we all thought you were KIA, they sent it to me instead since that was the one you listed. Along with a box of your belongings, but that’s a different story altogether.  _ That _ box is still over Serena’s.” Charlie smiles to her stepmother, “she and I were slowly going through it together, but I never...told her about the coat. I left that round my flat.”

“Smells like his aftershave.” Bernie mumbles, carefully pulling the broad shouldered jacket onto her slim frame as if she might break it in some way. “I remember being a girl while he was on leave and I’d wear it around the house while he did work on base...and didn’t really need it at the time. My mother would constantly tell me not to get any big ideas.“ A broad grin begins growing across her face, “this is amazing, Charlie, thank you.”

“I forgot I had it, honestly.” Charlie smirks, “Cam was too scrawny to wear it-”

“I beg your pardon.” Cameron gives his sister a playful look.

“-and I would have been happy to in due time. It’s kind of the style at the mo.” 

“It does look really good on you, Bernie. Big shoulders are in.” Ellie nods, “how old is it?”

“That particular version of camouflage was used in the early seventies.” Greta answers, “and only has the level of Major, but I remember Cameron saying he was a Brigadier.”

“This was before he was promoted to that level.” Bernie pulls the coat closer to her frame, closing her eyes a little as she takes a deep breath. “Might sleep in this.”

“The pins may become a bit uncomfortable, darling.” Serena has only seen her wife this happy on their wedding day, maybe when she was able to inform Serena that Elinor had returned. “If not for you, they would for me.” She winks to her wife.

“Get a room, you two.” Ellie rolls her eyes, amused by the pair more than anything. 

The day continued without a hitch, everyone spending time with one another, declaring that it might even be the best Christmas they’ve ever had. Slowly, each family began to shuffle out, Elinor choosing to stay at the hospital with Charlie for some gossip and girl talk, knowing her connections would protect her from getting kicked out after hours.

Bernie holds her wife’s hand as they pull into the driveway of their shared detached home. “Can I just say, today was...something I will always remember.” She nods a little, bringing Serena’s hand to her lips in order to softly kiss her knuckles.

“Raf was released ahead of schedule, able to spend the holiday with Fletch and his brood after...far too long.” Serena nods, “in the end, everyone was satisfied...and happy. At least, it seems that way.” Serena adjusts her position in the car, leaning over to tenderly kiss her wife’s lips. “The children went above and beyond.”

“They truly did. Makes me feel a bit...inadequate.”

“Don’t be, darling. We still haven’t opened our gifts for one another.” Serena pecks at her lips again.

“The fact that our family is complete is gift enough.” Bernie nods, “that you saw to it that Charlie survived, that Elinor is back...just...” She swallows, trying to keep her emotions at bay when she feels so overcome with them, “and I have you. This is all I need.”

“Ditto...but I still bought you a gift.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you yours if you tell me mine...that way we can...relax a bit instead of instantly opening more gifts when we get in the house.” Bernie raises a suggestive eyebrow.

“A few toys for the bedroom, a pair of new diamond studs, and the very first picture we were ever in together, framed.” Serena offers, “not that one I have on my desk either, it’s a different one. Sasha happened to have it. Not long after you started on AAU and we stopped over to Albie’s.”

Bernie smiles again, “when you were still masquerading as straight?”

“Before you put me on the turn, darling.” Serena answers proudly, “your turn.”

“See, I only bought you one thing. Now I feel-”

“Berenice.” Serena warns.

Bernie exhales a soft sound of amusement before taking a deep breath, “remember that cottage we saw in France while we were staying at that bed and breakfast...the one that was in the country and always seemed to smell of lavender when we passed?” She pauses, “it was quaint and I noticed how you’d smile every time we passed it.”

Serena hums as she nods, remembering the place fondly even though she was battling the grief of losing her daughter at the time, “I loved it there.”

“Yes, well, I contacted the owner and it turns out, the property was up for sale. Unfortunately.” Bernie begins to smirk, “so I bought it. A little place for us to get away on our next holiday together. Complete with a caretaker while we aren’t there.”

“What?”

Bernie hums her approval with a nod, “we can go once things settle a bit here. You can...add all the personal touches you wish.”

Serena leans in, kissing her even deeper this time, “I love you so much.”

“Ditto.” Bernie rubs her nose against Serena’s before kissing her once more, “Happy Christmas, darling.” She mumbles against her wife's lips, thrilled they're able to spend it together.


End file.
